vit·rain

(vĭt′rān)

A brilliant black band in bituminous coal, characterized by cubic cleavage, a conchoidal fracture, and a vitreous luster.

[Latin vitreus, made of glass, glassy; see vitreous + (fus)ain.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vitrain

(ˈvɪtreɪn)

(Geological Science) a type of coal occurring as horizontal glassy bands of a nonsoiling friable material

[C20: from Latin vitrum glass + -ain, as in fusain]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

References in periodicals archive

The interior of the apartment, which has a total built-up area of 120sqm, was designed and manufactured by Modern Woodworks, all of the sanitary ware and fittings were ordered from Vitrain Turkey and the kitchen appliances from Germany.

Stylish property by the sea

The significance of a thin coal within the open water facies association depends on its origin: given its discontinuous nature and lack of underlying roots, it likely represents organic material (vitrain) resulting from coalification of a transported lycopsid log rather than an in-situ histosol (peat).

Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the type section of the Pennsylvanian Boss Point Formation, Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Nova Scotia, Canada

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