n.
A dark-gray to black, fine-textured igneous rock composed mainly of feldspar and pyroxene and used for monuments and as crushed stone.
[French, partly from Greek diabasis, a crossing over (from diabainein, to pass through or over; see diabetes) and partly from diabase (dia-, two , alteration of di- , from Greek di-; see di-1 + base, basis , from Old French; see base1).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
