Vitric

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to, resembling, or composed of glass in texture or appearance
2. Pertaining to substances that have a glass-like quality or structure, often in reference to their physical attributes or formation
3. Describing materials or characteristics that exhibit a glassy texture or visual effect, typically highlighting their transparency or hardness

Etymology: Latin "vitrum" meant glass, and "vitreus" was formed from it to mean glassy or like glass. English took the adjective as "vitreous," which still appears in phrases such as vitreous enamel and the vitreous humour of the eye. The rarer "vitric" comes from the same root, so the two words are close relatives, with "vitric" the shorter of the pair. Its most specialised use is in geology. Petrologists apply "vitric" to volcanic rock or material in which glass, rather than crystals, makes up most of the texture, as in the glassy fragments found in some volcanic ash. The term narrows the general idea of glassiness into a description of how the rock formed: the molten material cooled too quickly for crystals to grow.