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gneiss

a coarse-grained banded metamorphic rock

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Where does the word "gneiss" come from? It comes from German Gneis, and was adopted directly into English (1750s).

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Where does the word "gneiss" come from? It comes from German Gneis, and was adopted directly into English (1750s).

Gneiss’s story begins in German: Gneis meant “gneiss.” A word of the Saxon miners, perhaps from Old High German 'gneisto', spark. It reached English by 1750s as gneiss. Taken up with German geology, then the world's leader. Today, gneiss means a coarse-grained banded metamorphic rock.

  1. Stage 1 · German · 1700s Gneis "gneiss", a word of the Saxon miners, perhaps from Old High German 'gneisto', spark.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1750s gneiss "gneiss", taken up with German geology, then the world's leader.

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