Etymology The term "gabbro" was used in the 1760s to name a set of rock types that were found in the ophiolites of the Apennine Mountains in Italy.Bortolotti, V. et al. Chapter 11: Ophiolites, Ligurides and the tectonic evolution from spreading to convergence of a Mesozoic Western Tethys segment in F. Vai, G.P. and Martini, I.P. (editors) (2001) Anatomy of an Orogen: The Apennines and Adjacent Mediterranean Basins, Dordrecht, Springer Science and Business Media, p. 151. It was named after Gabbro, a hamlet near Rosignano Marittimo in Tuscany. Then, in 1809, the German geologist Christian Leopold von Buch used the term more restrictively in his description of these Italian ophiolitic rocks.Bortolotti, V. et al. Chapter 11: Ophiolites, Ligurides and the tectonic evolution from spreading to convergence of a Mesozoic Western Tethys segment in F. Vai, G.P. and Martini, I.P. (editors) (2001) Anatomy of an Orogen: The Apennines and Adjacent Mediterranean Basins, Dordrecht, Springer Science and Business Media, p. 152. He assigned the name "gabbro" to rocks that geologists nowadays would more strictly call "metagabbro" (metamorphosed gabbro).Gabbro at SandAtlas geology blog. Retrieved on 2015-07-09.
etymology the term "gabbro" was used in the 1760s to name a set of rock types that were found in the ophiolites of the apennine mountains in italybortolotti v et al chapter 11 ophiolites ligurides and the tectonic evolution from spreading to convergence of a mesozoic western tethys segment in f vai gp and martini ip (editors) (2001) anatomy of an orogen the apennines and adjacent mediterranean basins dordrecht springer science and business media p 151 it was named after gabbro a hamlet near rosignano marittimo in tuscany then in 1809 the german geologist christian leopold von buch used the term more restrictively in his description of these italian ophiolitic rocksbortolotti v et al chapter 11 ophiolites ligurides and the tectonic evolution from spreading to convergence of a mesozoic western tethys segment in f vai gp and martini ip (editors) (2001) anatomy of an orogen the apennines and adjacent mediterranean basins dordrecht springer science and business media p 152 he assigned the name "gabbro" to rocks that geologists nowadays would more strictly call "metagabbro" (metamorphosed gabbro)gabbro at sandatlas geology blog retrieved on 2015-07-09