chert

  1. Noun.  (geology, uncountable) Massive generally dull colored and usually opaque quartzite or hornstone or impure chalcedony or other flint-like mineral. By general usage in mineralogy and geology, a chert does not have a conchoidal fracture. In North American archeology the term chert occasionally is still used for various siliceous minerals (including flint) that have a conchoidal fracture; this leads to confusion between the terms flint and chert in some archeology texts.
  2. Noun.  (countable) A flint-like tool made from chert.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.