CHERT

chert

(noun) variety of silica containing microcrystalline quartz

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

chert (countable and uncountable, plural cherts)

(geology, uncountable) Massive, usually dull-colored and opaque, quartzite, hornstone, impure chalcedony, or other flint-like mineral.

(countable) A flint-like tool made from chert.

Usage notes

Generally, in mineralogy and geology, a chert does not have a conchoidal fracture. In North American archeology the term chert occasionally is still used for various siliceous minerals (including flint) that have a conchoidal fracture; this leads to confusion between the terms flint and chert in some archeology texts.

Anagrams

• retch

Source: Wiktionary

Chert, n. Etym: [Ir. ceart stone, perh. akin to E. crag.] (Min.)

Definition: An impure, massive, flintlike quartz or hornstone, of a dull color.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition