Streak

Description

1) A discoloration, mark or smear on a substrate.

2) In mineralogy, a streak test used to characterize minerals by their color. A stone is rubbed on an unglazed porcelain plate and the color of the residual powder or streak is observed. For example, a rock containing hematite may appear black but will always produce a red streak.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Strich (Deut.); strie (Fr.);

Authority

• Identification of Textile Materials, The Textile Institute, Manchester, England, 1985

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998