granite

name

1. An island of South Australia.
2. A town in Colorado.
3. A town in Oklahoma.
4. A census-designated place in Utah.
5. An unincorporated community in Laramie County, Wyoming, United States.

noun

Etymology: From French granit (“granite”), from Italian granito (“granite”), from granire (“to granulate”), from grano (“grain”), from Latin grānum (“grain”). Compare granita.

1. A group of igneous and plutonic rocks composed primarily of feldspar and quartz. Usually contains one or more dark minerals, which may be mica, pyroxene, or amphibole. Granite is quarried for building stone, road gravel, decorative stone, and tombstones. Common colors are gray, white, pink, and yellow-brown.

   “Many monuments sold in the US are crafted from granite produced in China, India and elsewhere overseas, while a lot of stone-working equipment comes from Europe.”

2. Toughness; the quality of having a thick skin or being rough.

   “‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?”

   “The neighbor is eventually able to sell her home despite Homer’s pants-less affronts to propriety and decency and Bart falls deeply and instantly for one of its new inhabitants, a tough but charming and funny tomboy girl named Laura (voiced by Sara Gilbert) with just the right combination of toughness and sweetness, granite and honey.”