Definitions

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

  • noun A red residual soil formed by the leaching of silica and by the enrichment with aluminum and iron oxides, especially in humid climates.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A rock of peculiar character, found in India and some parts of southwestern Asia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Geol.) An argillaceous sandstone, of a red color, and much seamed; -- found in India.

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

  • noun A red hard or gravel-like soil or subsoil formed in the tropics that has been leached of soluble minerals leaving insoluble iron and aluminium oxides and hydroxides; used to make bricks and roads.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a red soil produced by rock decay; contains insoluble deposits of ferric and aluminum oxides

Etymologies

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

[Latin later, brick + –ite.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin later ("brick") +‎ -ite.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word laterite.

Examples

  • Because the soil on these islands consists of laterite, which is rich in minerals but very poor in humus material, it is subject to extreme erosion when forest cover is removed.

    Comoros forests 2007

  • · Tripod - This can hold a pulley to aid in lifting the tool string and also support the upper end of the drill stems when drilling through harder layers, such as laterite (see Glossary).

    Chapter 6 1980

  • In dry soils such as laterite soils, it is a very small plant not exceeding 9 or 10 inches across its spread.

    A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses K. Rangachari

  • Evoking the shape of the traditional Nigerian bow harp, the design connects the new Abuja Airport to the city proper on the opposite side of the freeway and comes complete with green roofs, a giant solar canopy and bricks made from the local laterite clay.

    Brit Liggett | Inhabitat 2010

  • Left, Mithun, an 11-year-old worker at a laterite brick mine, posed for a photograph in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, April 14.

    World Day Against Child Labor 2011

  • Danish Siddiqui/Reuters HARD LABOR: Fourteen-year-old Sunil was at work Thursday at a laterite brick mine in Ratnagiri district of India, about 225 miles south of Mumbai.

    Photos of the Day 2011

  • Left, Mithun, an 11-year-old worker at a laterite brick mine, posed for a photograph in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, April 14.

    World Day Against Child Labor 2011

  • Rio Tinto has said it plans to spend $2 billion developing the site, which has an estimated 162 million tons of laterite nickel resources.

    Rio Tinto Wins Indonesia Permit Reuben Carder 2010

  • Inside edges are entirely lined with laterite blocks, which gave easy access to the water.

    Banteay Chhmar 1937 - Ancient Khmer City in Cambodia | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2010

  • Pumpkin-colored mud huts domed with dried grass blended almost perfectly with the red laterite soil.

    Spellbound Karen Palmer 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • It has a name?

    May 31, 2010

  • A laterite -- a member of a certain class of perpetually tardy people.

    May 31, 2010