quartz
nounUK /k(w)ɔːts/ · US /k(w)ɔɹts/
Etymology From German Quarz, from Middle High German (Central East German) quarz, twarc, from a West Slavic language [compare Polish twardy (“hard”), Czech tvrdý (“hard”)], from Proto-Slavic *tvьrdъ ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twerH- (“to enclose, grab”).
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Chemistry, Geography, Geology, Mineralogy, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The most abundant mineral on the earth's surface, of chemical composition silicon dioxide, SiO₂. It occurs in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous. Found in every environment.
- The telescope and collimator have each an object-glass consisting of a single lens of quartz 1½ inch diameter and a focal length of 18½ inches for the sodium yellow light, but not more than 16 inches for the highest rays measured.1883, George Downing Liveing, James Dewar, “On the Ultra-Violet Spectra of the Elements”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, volume 174, Barrison and Sons, part I, page 188:
- Subsequently, the old Malay brought him the present specimen in a state of torpidity, telling him he had found it in a cavity of the quartz reef.1892 April 23, Armiger Barczinsky, “The Golden Snail”, in Sylvanus Urban (pseudonym of Edward Cave), editor, The Gentleman's Magazine, volume 272, page 331:
1 more example
- My meat eats me. Who waits at the gate? / Mother of quartz, your words writhe into my ear. / Renew the light, lewd whisper.1948, Theodore Roethke, “The Shape of the Fire”, in The Lost Son and Other Poems, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, →OCLC; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, London: Faber and Faber […], 1968, →OCLC, page 62:
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Slang Crystal meth: methamphetamine hydrochloride.
- Synonyms
- quartz
- Derived terms
53 terms
alpha quartz, beta quartz, clear quartz, drusy quartz, fused quartz, gold quartz, honeycomb quartz, megaquartz, microquartz, milky quartz, pure quartz, purple quartz, quartz arenite, quartz-arenitic, quartz arenitic, quartz-beta, quartz clock, quartz crusher, quartz crystal, quartz-crystal clock, quartz-diorite, quartz glass, quartz halogen lamp, quartz heater, quartziferous, quartzine, quartzing, quartz-iodine lamp, quartzite, quartz lamp, quartzless, quartzlike, quartz mining, quartz monzonite, quartzofeldspathic, quartzoid, quartzolite, quartzose, quartzous, quartz reefer, quartz schist, quartz-trachyte, quartz-wacke, quartz watch, quartzy, rainbow quartz, rose quartz, shocked quartz, smokey quartz, smoky quartz, snow quartz, star quartz, vein quartz- Related terms
- Colorado topaz, amethyst, aventurine, buhrstone, cairngorm, chalcedony, chrysoprase, citrine, coesite, flint, greisen, onyx, phenacite, prase, rock crystal, rubasse, stishovite, topaz
- Hyponyms
- agate, amethyst, aventurine, carnelian, chalcedony, citrine, jasper, milky quartz, onyx, rose quartz, smoky quartz, tiger's eye, vermarine