Dictionary entry details
• GEOLOGY (noun)
Meaning:
A science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("geology" is a kind of...):
earth science (any of the sciences that deal with the earth or its parts)
Domain member category:
geomorphologic; geomorphological; morphologic; morphological; structural (pertaining to geological structure)
archaean; archean (used of the earliest known rocks)
unstratified (not deposited in layers)
bedded; stratified (deposited or arranged in horizontal layers)
synclinal (sloping downward toward each other to create a trough)
anticlinal (sloping downward away from a common crest)
cataclinal (of valleys and rivers; running in the direction of the dip in surrounding rock strata)
anaclinal (of valleys and rivers; progressing in a direction opposite to the dip in surrounding rock strata)
thrust (force (molten rock) into pre-existing rock)
stratify (form layers or strata)
interstratify (arrange rocks in alternating strata)
shingling ((geology) sediment in which flat pebbles are uniformly tilted in the same direction)
isostasy ((geology) a general equilibrium of the forces tending to elevate or depress the earth's crust)
archaeozoic; archeozoic (formed in the earlier of two divisions of the Precambrian era)
azoic (before the appearance of life)
tectonic (pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust)
batholithic; batholitic (of or relating to a batholith)
incumbent (lying or leaning on something else)
changed (changed in constitution or structure or composition by metamorphism)
extrusive (of rock material; forced out while molten through cracks in the earth's surface)
intrusive (of rock material; forced while molten into cracks between layers of other rock)
aqueous; sedimentary (produced by the action of water)
eruptive; igneous (produced by the action of fire or intense heat)
clastic (of or belonging to or being a rock composed of fragments of older rocks (e.g., conglomerates or sandstone))
endogenetic; endogenic (of rocks formed or occurring beneath the surface of the earth)
monoclinal (of a geological structure in which all strata are inclined in the same direction)
proterozoic (formed in the later of two divisions of the Precambrian era)
hoodoo ((geology) a column of weathered and unusually shaped rock)
superposition ((geology) the deposition of one geological stratum on another)
saltation ((geology) the leaping movement of sand or soil particles as they are transported in a fluid medium over an uneven surface)
break; fault; faulting; fracture; geological fault; shift ((geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other)
esker ((geology) a long winding ridge of post glacial gravel and other sediment; deposited by meltwater from glaciers or ice sheets)
diapir (a domed rock formation where a core of rock has moved upward and pierced through the more brittle overlying strata)
clastic rock ((geology) a rock composed of broken pieces of older rocks)
clast ((geology) a constituent fragment of a clastic rock)
bed ((geology) a stratum of rock (especially sedimentary rock))
fault line ((geology) line determined by the intersection of a geological fault and the earth's surface)
slide ((geology) the descent of a large mass of earth or rocks or snow etc.)
upheaval; uplift; upthrow; upthrust ((geology) a rise of land to a higher elevation (as in the process of mountain building))
heave ((geology) a horizontal dislocation)
crustal movement; tectonic movement (movement resulting from or causing deformation of the earth's crust)
principle of superposition; superposition; superposition principle ((geology) the principle that in a series of stratified sedimentary rocks the lowest stratum is the oldest)
formation; geological formation ((geology) the geological features of the earth)
Great Rift Valley (( geology) a depression in southwestern Asia and eastern Africa; extends from the valley of the Jordan River to Mozambique; marked by geological faults)
deflation ((geology) the erosion of soil as a consequence of sand and dust and loose rocks being removed by the wind)
geologic process; geological process ((geology) a natural process whereby geological features are modified)
foliation ((geology) the arrangement of leaflike layers in a rock)
eating away; eroding; erosion; wearing; wearing away ((geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it))
accretion ((geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment)
geological phenomenon (a natural phenomenon involving the structure or composition of the earth)
xenolith ((geology) a piece of rock of different origin from the igneous rock in which it is embedded)
sill ((geology) a flat (usually horizontal) mass of igneous rock between two layers of older sedimentary rock)
scablands ((geology) flat elevated land with poor soil and little vegetation that is scarred by dry channels of glacial origin (especially in eastern Washington))
peneplain; peneplane (a more or less level land surface representing and advanced stage of erosion undisturbed by crustal movements)
Moho; Mohorovicic discontinuity (the boundary between the Earth's crust and the underlying mantle)
kettle; kettle hole ((geology) a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits)
exceedance ((geology) the probability that an earthquake will generate a level of ground motion that exceeds a specified reference level during a given exposure time)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "geology"):
hypsography (the scientific study of the earth's configuration above sea level (emphasizing the measurement of land altitudes relative to sea level))
palaeogeology; paleogeology (the study of geologic features once at the surface of the earth but now buried beneath rocks)
geophysical science; geophysics (geology that uses physical principles to study properties of the earth)
orography; orology (the science of mountains)
stratigraphy (the branch of geology that studies the arrangement and succession of strata)
mineralogy (the branch of geology that studies minerals: their structure and properties and the ways of distinguishing them)
spelaeology; speleology (the scientific study of caves)
economic geology (the branch of geology that deals with economically valuable geological materials)
