English
gabbro
Gabbro comes from Italian gabbro, and goes back to Latin glaber ‘smooth’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEglaber‘smooth’
- Italianc. 1300–presentgabbro
- Englishearliest quotation 2004same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEglaber‘smooth’
- Italianc. 1300–presentgabbro
- Englishearliest quotation 2004same form
Earliest quotation: 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth: “It is known as gabbro and is thought to…”
Linked words
through Latin glaber ‘smooth’
Today it means
noun Originally, a kind of serpentine; now generally a coarsely crystalline, igneous rock consisting of lamellar pyroxene and labradorite.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin glaber / gabbro