Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GRAN'IT, or GRAN'ITE, n. [Fr. granit; It. granito, grained.]

In mineralogy, an aggregate stone or rock, composed of crystaline grains of quartz, feldspar and mica, or at least of two of these minerals, united without a cement, or confusedly crystalized. The grains vary in size from that of a pin's head, to a mass of two or three feet; but usually the largest size is that of a nut. The color of granit is greatly diversified by the different colors and proportions of the component parts, and in general these stones are very hard. Dict. Nat. Hist. Kirwan.