Siltite

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fine-grained sedimentary rock formed by the compaction of silt-sized mineral particles, lying between mudstone and sandstone in grain size
2. A consolidated rock built from layers of silt, with grains finer than sand but coarser than clay, often found in river and lake deposits
3. Hardened sediment composed chiefly of silt particles, a type of clastic rock valued by geologists for reading past depositional environments

Etymology: Siltite is a plain formation: English "silt" with the suffix "-ite", the same ending found in words like "granite" and "dolomite" that names a rock or mineral. The result is a term for a rock made largely of silt-sized grains, which in geology means particles finer than sand but coarser than clay. Because the word is built directly from two English parts, its meaning follows from them: a rock whose character comes from that fine silt.