Concretion
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -iËʃən
Origin
From French concrétion, from Latin concretio.
Full definition of concretion
Noun
concretion
(plural concretions)- The process of aggregating or coalescing into a mass.
- A solid, hard mass formed by a process of aggregation or coalescence.
- (petrology) A rounded mass of a mineral, sometimes found in sedimentary rock or on the ocean floor.
- 1844, Charles Darwin, Geological Observations on South America, ch. 5,Of the three beds, the central one is the most compact, and more like ordinary sandstone: it includes numerous flattened spherical concretions.
- The action of making something concrete or the result of such an action.
- 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, ch. 14,"My new statue!" said Kenyon. . . . "It is the concretion of a good deal of thought, emotion, and toil of brain and hand."
Usage notes
Concretion and concretization are rough synonyms but are usually not used interchangeably. Concretion is more commonly used to refer to a physical object or to the physical process which creates it. Concretization is more commonly used to refer to a particular embodiment of a general concept or to the process which creates it.