Serpentinise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To undergo a geological transformation in which ultramafic rocks are converted into serpentinite through hydration and metamorphic processes involving water incorporation
2. The chemical and physical alteration of mantle rocks where minerals react with water to form serpentine group minerals, changing their composition and texture
3. Describing the process by which peridotite and similar rocks absorb water and transform into softer, greenish serpentinite, often affecting rock density and structural properties

Etymology: Serpentine, the mineral, takes its name from its colour and texture, which resemble snakeskin, and "serpentinise" names the chemical process that turns other rock into it. The verb is built from the noun "serpentine" with the English suffix "-ise", which turns a noun into a verb meaning to make or become something. So to serpentinise is to convert rock, typically the iron- and magnesium-rich rock peridotite, into serpentine by reacting it with water. The word therefore describes a change in the rock rather than in the mineral. Geologists use it for a hydration process in which water seeps into the rock and transforms its original minerals into the softer, greenish stone. The verb is a plain coinage on an existing noun, so its history is simply that of its two parts.

Synonyms: serpentinize, hydrate, alter, transform, metamorphose

Antonyms: unserpentinise, dehydrate, unalter, reverse, restore