breccia

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian breccia, from French brèche, from Middle French breche, from Old French breche, from Vulgar Latin *breca, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *breka.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɛt͡ʃ.(ɪ.)ə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɛt͡ʃ.(i.)ə/, /ˈbɹɛʃ.i.ə/

Noun

breccia (usually uncountable, plural breccias)

1. (petrology) A rock composed of angular fragments in a matrix that may be of a similar or a different material.
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 24:

     Courses of angular boulders line the rim of the volcano, the remains of its last explosive phase, resulting in a volcanic breccia.

Derived terms

• breccial
• brecciate
• brecciation
• breccioid
• megabreccia
• microbreccia
• pseudobreccia

 

Translations

rock

• Finnish: breksia
• French: brèche (fr) f
• Irish: breisia f
• Italian: breccia (it) f
• Japanese: 角礫岩 (かくれきがん, kakurekigan)
• Russian: бре́кчия (ru) f (brékčija)
• Spanish: brecha (es) f

References

• VolcanoWorld
• About.com

Anagrams

• acerbic, Beccari

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French breche, ultimately of Germanic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbret.t͡ʃa/
• Rhymes: -ettʃa
• Hyphenation: bréc‧cia

Noun

breccia f (plural brecce)

1. breach, break, gap
2. breakthrough
3. road metal (crushed stone)
4. (geology) breccia

Descendants

• → English: breccia

Anagrams

• Beccari