magmatist
/ˈmaɡmətɪst/Geology
noun
A person who believes that most plutonic rocks, especially granites, were formed from magma rather than by metamorphic granitization.
- Throughout the 19th cent. and much of the 20th there was controversy over the origin of granite, especially whether it was formed from magma or from the transformation (metamorphism) of other rock. The former view was propounded by James Hutton (1795), and was subsequently taken by Charles Lyell, in opposition to Baltazar Keilhau (1835). In contrast the ‘transformist’ view was the official position of the British Geological Survey from 1866 until 1901, and in the 19th cent. was especially prevalent in France. In the 20th cent. a notable opponent of the magmatists was Herbert Read..
Origin
1940s; earliest use found in Herbert Harold Read (1889–1970), geologist. From classical Latin magmat-, magma magma + -ist.