lateriticadj.
/ˌlatəˈrɪtɪk/, U.S. /ˌlædəˈrɪdɪk/ Geology and Soil Science.
Resembling or of the nature of laterite; spec. designating a type of soil that is not formally classified as a laterite but approaches it in composition.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [adjective] > mineral soils
keely1712
salt1813
lateritic1836
halomorphic1938
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > oxides and hydroxides > native earths > [adjective] > laterite
laterite1828
lateritic1836
1836 Madras Jrnl. Lit. & Sci. 4 3 In more than one locality of this plain a stratum of nodular kankar is found between the lateritic detritus and the granite.
1845 Jrnl. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 14 i. 305 Lateritic sandstone.
1880 V. Ball Jungle Life India i. 4 A very notable change..from a swampy alluvium into a lateritic gravel.
1927 Jrnl. Agric. Sci. 17 546 It is..suggested that where the silica/alumina ratio in the clay fraction [of a soil] falls below 2·0 the soil should be described as ‘lateritic’, and where this ratio falls below 1·33 the soil should be described as laterite.
1952 L. M. Thompson Soils & Soil Fertility xvii. 285 The clay soils which he studied..were lateritic in nature (high percentage of kaolinite or high in hydrated oxides of iron and aluminum), and it is now recognized that lateritic or kaolinitic materials are resistant to erosion.
1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 14/7 He pointed to the lateritic, or oxide, ores of the tropics and subtropics as an area where future major expansion in the industry will occur.
2003 Encycl. Brit. Online 24 Nov. at Hunan The soils of the province are..mainly lateritic (leached, iron-bearing) yellow earths or red clays.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1836