Webster's 1828 Dictionary
BASANITE
n.[Gr. the trier. Plin. Lib. 36. Ca. 22. See Basalt. ] Lydian stone, or black jasper; a variety of siliceous or flinty slate. Its color is a grayish or bluish black, interspersed with veins of quartz. It is employed to test the purity of gold.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
BASANITE
Bas "a *nite, n. Etym: [L. basanites lapis, Gr. the touchstone: cf. F.basanite. ] (Min. )
Defn: Lydian stone, or black jasper, a variety of siliceous or flinty slate, of a grayish or bluish black color. It is employed to test the purity of gold, the amount of alloy being indicated by the color left on the stone when rubbed by the metal.
New American Oxford Dictionary
basanite
basanite |ˈbasənʌɪt | ▶noun [ mass noun ] a dark grey or black basaltic rock consisting of plagioclase, augite, olivine, and a feldspathoid. ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Latin basanites (see basalt ) + -ite 1 .
Oxford Dictionary
basanite
basanite |ˈbasənʌɪt | ▶noun [ mass noun ] a dark grey or black basaltic rock consisting of plagioclase, augite, olivine, and a feldspathoid. ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Latin basanites (see basalt ) + -ite 1 .
The Wordsmith Dictionary