metasomatic

Variant of metasomatism

noun

the metamorphic process by which minerals of a rock or ore body are replaced by minerals of a different chemical composition as a result of the action of a fluid, esp. of moving water

Origin: meta- + somat(o)- + -ism

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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