Bāṣ'a-nite, n.

(Synop., § 130), n. [Fr. basanite, Lat. basanites lapis, Gr. βάσανος, the touchstone.] (Min.) Lydian stone, or black jasper; a variety of silicious or flinty slate, of a grayish or bluish-black color, often interspersed with veins of quartz;— employed to test the purity of gold.