A strongly foliated crystalline rock, formed by dynamic metamorphism, that can be readily split into thin flakes or slabs due to the well developed parallelism of more than 50% of the minerals present, particularly those of lamellar or elongate prismatic habit, e.g., mica and hornblende. The mineral composition is not an essential factor in its definition unless specif. included in the rock name, e.g., quartz-muscovite schist. Varieties may also be based on general composition, e.g., calc-silicate schist, amphibole 2777 schist; or on texture, e.g., spotted schist. Compare: paraschist