pseudomorphn.
/ˈs(j)uːdə(ʊ)mɔːf/, U.S. /ˈsudoʊˌmɔrf/ Chiefly Mineralogy.
Originally: a mineral having the appearance of another mineral but a different composition, as a result of substitution in or alteration of an original mineral; a mineral in which such substitution or alteration has occurred without change in external form; (with after followed by the name of the other mineral). Later also: anything that has been changed in substance but that preserves much of the original appearance. Also in extended use.
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1837 J. D. Dana Syst. Mineral. 41 The last method stated above, is by far the most frequent source of pseudomorphs, though the process by which they have been formed is often very obscure.
1854 J. D. Dana Syst. Mineral. (ed. 4) II. 86 Altered Forms.—Stephanite and Pyrites, occur as pseudomorphs after polybasite.
1926 R. S. Lull Org. Evol. xxv. 412 (caption) Pseudomorph, in which the original lime of the Silurian chain coral, Halysites calenulatus, has been replaced by silica.
1938 P. M. A. Linebarger Govt. Republican China i. 21 The old Chinese hierarchy was a pseudomorph—it looked like a state but was not really one.
1986 Observer 6 July 15/8 In many cases, all that is left of the burials are dark shadowy stains in the soil, a sand silhouette or, more correctly, a ‘pseudomorph’.
1990 J. M. Cronyn Elem. Archaeol. Conservation ii. 29 (caption) Knife handle, once wood, now preserved as a pseudomorph composed of iron corrosion products.
1993 W. Wall Imprint of Gender iv. 231 Because the first car..retained some of the features of the horse and buggy, even though those features served no apparent purpose, it stands as a prime example of a cultural pseudomorph.
1997 Oxoniensia 61 178 This indicates oxidation of the glauconite with goethite pseudomorphs (red-orange grains) being the end product of weathering.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pseudomorphv.
/ˈs(j)uːdə(ʊ)mɔːf/, U.S. /ˈsudoʊˌmɔrf/ Mineralogy.
a. transitive. To produce or form (a mineral) as a pseudomorph (after an initial or starting mineral). Usually in passive.
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1886 Amer. Naturalist 20 61 The original forms so well preserved as to leave no doubt as to the character of the mineral after which they are pseudomorphed.
1907 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 46 24 The slide contained..hornblende, glaucophane pseudomorphed after hornblende, [etc.].
1999 Science 6 Aug. 856/3 The C polymorph in peridotites is octahedral graphite..pseudomorphed after diamond.
b. transitive. To alter (a mineral) so as to form a pseudomorph (usually in passive, by the pseudomorph formed); to be a pseudomorph of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > change processes > [verb (transitive)] > pseudomorphing
pseudomorphose1888
pseudomorph1889
1889 Amer. Naturalist 23 1005 It has often changed into pilite and talc, and has, in some cases, been pseudomorphed by quartz.
1923 Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. 53 371 Olivine, pseudomorphed by brownish-green serpentine, is quite common.
2005 Lithos 85 160/2 Calcite occurs pseudomorphing olivine, infilling intergranular spaces and in spherical, sometimes coalescent ocelli.
Derivatives
ˈpseudomorphed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > change processes > [adjective] > pseudomorphing or pseudomorphed
pseudomorphosing1876
pseudomorphed1965
1965 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 257 300 Clusters of augite representing completely pseudomorphed quartz.
2005 Lithos 85 164/1 Microphenocrysts are titaniferous pyroxenes, ranging in composition from diopsidic ores to..pseudomorphed melilite and pyroxene.
ˈpseudomorphing n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > change processes > [noun] > pseudomorphing
pseudomorphing1948
1948 Obituary Notices Fellows Royal Soc. 5 798 An appreciation of the microstructure was fundamental in his researches,..as exemplified by notices of mineral pseudomorphing.
2002 Jrnl. Structural Geol. 24 1142/2 Systematic relationships exist between the type and degree of pseudomorphing and the position within the M3 gradient.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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