Publication

The word ‘tenseki’ in Japanese, generally translated as ‘rolling stone’, is a term frequently used in geological and paleontological research. However, the term is not necessarily defined, and there is no consistent English translation for it. In this study, we compiled examples of the use of the term ‘tenseki’ in dictionaries and specialized books, as well as English translations, and attempted to organize the examples. We concluded that ‘float’ is an appropriate English translation. In addition, we propose terms, i.e., ‘granule-sized float’, ‘pebble-sized float’, ‘cobble-sized float’, and ‘boulder-sized float’ when focusing on the size of the float. Furthermore, we propose the new term ‘outcrop float’ specifically for a float from which the outcrops of origin are certainly inferred.