Psammite

Psammite (Greek: psammos, "sand") is a general term for sandstone. It is equivalent to the Latin-derived term arenite[1][2] and is commonly used in various publications to describe a metamorphosed sedimentary rock with a dominantly sandstone protolith.[3] In Europe, this term was formerly used for a fine-grained, fissile, clayey sandstone.[2] Pettijohn [4] gives the following descriptive terms based on grain size, avoiding the use of terms such as "clay" or "argillaceous", which carry an implication of chemical composition:

Descriptive size terms
TextureCommonGreekLatin
Coarse gravel(ly)psephite (psephitic)rudite (rudaceous)
Medium sand(y)psammite (psammitic)arenite (arenaceous)
Fine clay(ey)pelite (pelitic)lutite (lutaceous)
This article is about the type of sedimentary rock. For the work by Archimedes, see The Sand Reckoner.

References
  1. U.S. Bureau of Mines Staff (1996) Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, & Related Terms. Report SP-96-1, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, D.C.
  2. Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, J.A., eds. (2005) Glossary of Geology (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute, Washington, DC 779 pp.
  3. Tyrell, G. W. (1921) Some points in petrographic nomenclature. Geological Magazine. v. 58, no. 11, pp. 494–502.
  4. Pettijohn F. J. (1975), Sedimentary Rocks, Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-045191-2
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