1. Plural of enstatite; a magnesium silicate mineral of the pyroxene group, typically greenish or brownish in color, found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Usage: geology; mineralogy; technical

Examples

• Enstatites are common minerals in meteorites and lunar samples.
• The geologist identified enstatites in the thin section of the basalt sample.
• Enstatites crystallize in the orthorhombic system and have a hardness of about 5 on the Mohs scale.
• The presence of enstatites in the rock indicates high-temperature formation conditions.