See Also: diabase(medicine)
diabase(dictionary)
diabase(encyclopedia)

diabase (iou)



diabase noun. M19.
[French, irreg. as if for di- (DI-2) + base, 'rock with two bases'; later perh. assoc. with Greek diabasis transition.]
Petrography. Orig. = DIORITE. Later (in the UK), an altered or (formerly) pre-Tertiary dolerite; (in the US) any dolerite.
dia'basic adjective pertaining to or of the nature of diabase L19.