Fō'li-ā'tion, n.
n. [Fr. foliātion.]
Sense 1. The act of forming into leaves; the method of disposing leaves within the bud.
The ...foliation must be in relation to the stem. De Quincey.
Sense 2. The act of beating a metal into a thin plate, leaf, foil, or lamina.
Sense 3. The act or operation of spreading foil over the back side of a mirror or looking-glass.
Sense 4. (Arch.) The act of enriching with feather-ornaments resembling leaves, or the ornaments themselves; feathering.
Sense 5. (Geol.) The property, possessed by some crystalline rocks, of dividing more or less easily into plates or slabs, which is due to the cleavage structure of mica or hornblende, one of the constituents of such rocks: mica and hornblendic schists are examples. It may sometimes include slaty structure or cleavage, though the latter is usually independent of any mineral constituent, and transverse to the bedding.