PYROXENES

Noun

pyroxenes

plural of pyroxene

Source: Wiktionary


PYROXENE

Pyr"ox*ene, n. Etym: [F. pyroxène, from Gr. (Min.)

Definition: A common mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, with a prismatic angle of nearly 90º, and also in massive forms which are often laminated. It varies in color from white to dark green and black, and includes many varieties differing in color and composition, as diopside, malacolite, salite, coccolite, augite, etc. They are all silicates of lime and magnesia with sometimes alumina and iron. Pyroxene is an essential constituent of many rocks, especially basic igneous rocks, as basalt, gabbro, etc.

Note: The pyroxene group contains pyroxene proper, also the related orthorhombic species, enstatite, bronzite, hypersthene, and various monoclinic and triclinic species, as rhodonite, etc.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 June 2024

INITIALISM

(noun) an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name and pronounced separately; “HTML is an initialism for HyperText Markup Language”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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