Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small, round grain consisting of concentric layers of calcium carbonate, silica, or dolomite that have precipitated around a shell fragment, sand grain, pellet of alga, or other central object.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun geology A spherical granule of which oolite is composed, formed by concentric accretion of thin layers of a mineral around a core. Calcium carbonate (limestone) is the most common mineral that forms ooliths, but they may also form from other minerals such as dolomite and silica.
  • noun rare Oolite.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[oo– (since ooliths resemble fish roe in texture and appearance) + –lith.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin oolithus, from Ancient Greek ᾠο- ("oo-") + λίθος (lithos, "stone"), corresponding to oo- + -lith

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  • Geol. n. Any of the small, rounded granules of which oolite is composed.

    August 4, 2008