# Psammite

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{{Short description|General term for sandstone}}
{{about|the type of sedimentary rock|the work by Archimedes|The Sand Reckoner}}

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'''Psammite''' ([Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek): ''psammitēs'' "(made) from sand", from ''psammos'' "sand")<ref>{{LSJ|yammi/ths|ψαμμίτης}}, {{LSJ|ya/mmos|ψάμμος|ref}}.</ref> is a general term for [sandstone](/source/sandstone). It is equivalent to the Latin-derived term [arenite](/source/arenite)<ref name="U.S.BureauofMines1996a">U.S. Bureau of Mines Staff (1996) ''Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, & Related Terms.'' Report SP-96-1, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, D.C.</ref><ref name="Neuendorf Others2005a">Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, J.A., eds. (2005) ''Glossary of Geology'' (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute, Washington, DC 779 pp.</ref> and is commonly used in various publications to describe a [metamorphosed](/source/Metamorphism) [sedimentary rock](/source/sedimentary_rock) with a dominantly sandstone [protolith](/source/protolith).<ref name="Tyrell1921a">Tyrell, G. W. (1921) ''Some points in petrographic nomenclature.'' Geological Magazine. v. 58, no. 11, pp. 494–502.</ref> In Europe, this term was formerly used for a fine-grained, fissile, clayey sandstone.<ref name="Neuendorf Others2005a"/> [Pettijohn](/source/Francis_J._Pettijohn)<ref>[Pettijohn F. J.](/source/Francis_J._Pettijohn) (1975), ''Sedimentary Rocks'', Harper & Row, {{ISBN|0-06-045191-2}}</ref> gives the following descriptive terms based on grain size, avoiding the use of terms such as "clay" or "argillaceous", which carry an implication of chemical composition:

{| class="wikitable" 
|+Descriptive size terms
|-
! Texture !! Common !! Greek !! Latin
|-
! Coarse
| gravel(ly) || [psephite](/source/psephite) ''(psephitic)''|| [rudite](/source/rudite) ''(rudaceous)''
|-
! Medium
| sand(y) || '''psammite''' ''(psammitic)''|| [arenite](/source/arenite) ''(arenaceous)''
|-
! Fine
| clay(ey) || [pelite](/source/pelite) ''(pelitic)''|| [lutite](/source/lutite) ''(lutaceous)''
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}
Category:Sandstone
Category:Metasedimentary rocks
Category:Sedimentary rocks
Category:Sand
{{petrology-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Psammite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psammite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psammite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.