What does igneous mean?
Igneous is an adjective chiefly used in geology for rocks formed from molten material. When magma or lava cools and solidifies, it creates igneous rock, which may be crystalline, glassy, or vesicular depending on how quickly it cools and what happens around it. The term includes intrusive rocks such as granite and extrusive rocks such as basalt. In ordinary conversation, “igneous” is uncommon because people usually say “volcanic” when referring to rocks connected with volcanoes. The word also has a rarer literary meaning of fiery or glowing, as in descriptions of a blazing or volcanic landscape. Its unusual technical and poetic associations make it a precise word for distinguishing rocks formed by cooling from sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
Relating to or consisting of rock formed by the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
"Volcanic activity produced layers of igneous rock across the valley."
The term is chiefly geological and contrasts with sedimentary and metamorphic rock.
Literary: fiery, glowing, or resembling fire.
"The landscape glowed with an igneous intensity at sunset."
This sense is poetic or literary rather than standard scientific usage.
Igneous literally means “fire-born”: it comes from the Latin word for fire and names the rocks created when molten material cools into solid stone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does igneous come from?
Igneous comes from the Latin adjective igneus, meaning “of fire” or “fire-like,” from ignis, “fire.” It entered English in the early 19th century in geological terminology, when the classification of rocks was being systematized. The same Latin root is reflected in English words such as ignite and ignition, which connect the geological term with the process of catching fire.
How igneous is actually used
In modern scientific usage, “igneous” is primarily a geological term. Its literal, fiery sense is literary and much less common.