ZIRCON

zircon, zirconium silicate

(noun) a common mineral occurring in small crystals; chief source of zirconium; used as a refractory when opaque and as a gem when transparent

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

zircon (countable and uncountable, plural zircons)

(uncountable) A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or grey colour and consisting of silica and zirconia.

(countable) A crystal of zircon, sometimes used as a false gemstone.

Source: Wiktionary


Zir"con, n. Etym: [F., the same word as jargon. See Jargon a variety of zircon.] (Min.)

Definition: A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or gray color. It consists of silica and zirconia. A red variety, used as a gem, is called hyacinth. Colorless, pale-yellow or smoky- brown varieties from Ceylon are called jargon. Zircon syenite, a coarse-grained syenite containing zircon crystals and often also elæolite. It is largely developed in Southern Norway.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

24 April 2025

LININ

(noun) an obsolete term for the network of viscous material in the cell nucleus on which the chromatin granules were thought to be suspended


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Decaffeinated coffee comes from a chemical process that takes out caffeine from the beans. Pharmaceutical and soda companies buy the extracted caffeine.

coffee icon