coesite

[ koh-sahyt ]

noun

, Mineralogy.

1. a rare form of silicon dioxide, a denser polymorph of quartz, originally synthesized from quartz at high temperatures and pressures: later discovered in nature.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coesite¹

1950–55; named after Loring Coes, Jr., 20th-century American who synthesized it; -ite ¹