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porphyry (PAWR-fuh-ree) - n., a hard igneous rock consisting of large crystals in a fine-grained matrix; esp., a porphyritic rock quarried in Egypt with a purple-red groundmass and small crystals of feldspar.
The specific stone (a type of andesite) is the original meaning: the ultimate root is Greek pórphyros, purple. From there, it was borrowed by Latin, and them by English in the 14th century.
---L.
The specific stone (a type of andesite) is the original meaning: the ultimate root is Greek pórphyros, purple. From there, it was borrowed by Latin, and them by English in the 14th century.
---L.
