argillic

argillic — adjective

  • argillicpositive
  • more argilliccomparative
  • most argillicsuperlative

1. describes earth material — such as a soil layer, sediment, or rock — that contai

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

describes earth material — such as a soil layer, sediment, or rock — that contains a large amount of clay.

Example

Below the topsoil, Dr. Sato found a dense, reddish-brown argillic layer packed with fine clay.

collocation: argillic layer; clay properties: dense, reddish-brown

Amelia's wheat field in Nebraska has an argillic horizon, so the soil stays moist long after the rain stops.

collocation: argillic horizon (standard soil-science term)

Common collocations
  • argillic horizon
  • argillic layer
  • argillic soil
  • argillic deposit
  • argillic material
Synonyms
  • clayey

    an everyday word for soil that feels like clay; less formal and less precise than 'argillic'.

  • argillaceous

    a close synonym used mostly in geology; even more technical and less frequent than 'argillic'.

Antonyms
  • sandy

    describes soil or rock with a high sand content, the opposite of clay-rich material.

Usage Note

Primarily used in technical descriptions of soil profiles and sedimentary rock. The most common fixed expression is 'argillic horizon', which names a specific layer in soil classification systems.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Argillic is a technical term used in geology and soil science to describe soil layers or rock with a high clay content. 'Clayey' is the everyday word — a gardener might say the soil feels 'clayey' when it is heavy and sticky. 'Argillaceous' is even more formal and less common than 'argillic', appearing mostly in academic writing about sedimentary rocks. 'Loamy' describes a balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay, not a clay-rich material. For example, a farmer would call the ground 'clayey', but a soil survey report would identify an 'argillic horizon' in the same field.

clayey ↗argillaceous ↗loamy

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • argillic horizon
  • argillic layer
  • argillic soil

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Argillic comes from the Latin word 'argilla', meaning 'clay', combined with the English suffix '-ic', which turns a noun into an adjective that means 'relating to' or 'made of'. The term entered English geological writing in the early 20th century as soil science developed its own classification system.