In mineralogy, describing a mineral crystal that partially breaks through the surface of another mineral.
From French 'brochant,' meaning 'breaking through,' derived from the verb 'brocher' (to pierce or break through), applied to crystallography terminology in the 19th century.
When geologists look at a rock sample, 'brochant' minerals are the dramatic ones that have pushed through other minerals—it's a record of which crystals formed under the most pressure or had the strongest growth conditions, basically rock drama frozen in time.
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