quartz
[kwawrts]
- one of the commonest minerals, silicon dioxide, SiO2, having many varieties that differ in color, luster, etc., and occurring either in masses (as agate, bloodstone, chalcedony, jasper, etc.) or in crystals (as rock crystal, amethyst, citrine, etc.): the chief constituent of sand and sandstone, and an important constituent of many other rocks. It is piezoelectric and used to control the frequencies of radio transmitters.
Origin of quartz
First recorded in 1750–60, quartz is from the German word Quarz
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for quartzose
Historical Examples
The hills were covered with a quartzose soil, containing angular fragments.
The specimen brought from the hill by Mr. Larmer appeared to be a quartzose conglomerate.
The identity of the two channels was further established by the quartzose sand found in both.
The tin is obtained in the form of black grains from beds of quartzose sand, and is melted into ingots in rude clay furnaces.
The Malay ArchipelagoAlfred Russell Wallace
The stones are usually imbedded in a matrix of quartzose grit and sand, but sometimes this is very scanty.
GeologyJames Geikie
quartz
- a colourless mineral often tinted by impurities, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. It is used in the manufacture of glass, abrasives, and cement, and also as a gemstone; the violet-purple variety is amethyst, the brown variety is cairngorm, the yellow variety is citrine, and the pink variety is rose quartz. Composition: silicon dioxide. Formula: SiO 2 . Crystal structure: hexagonal
- short for quartz glass
Word Origin
C18: from German Quarz, of Slavic origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for quartzose
quartz
n.
"silicon dioxide," 1756, from German Quarz, Zwarc "rock crystal," from Middle High German twarc, probably from a West Slavic source, cf. Czech tvrdy, Polish twardy "quartz," noun uses of an adjective meaning "hard," from Old Church Slavonic tvrudu "hard," from Proto-Slavic *tvrd-, from PIE *(s)twer- "to grasp, hold; hard."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
quartz
(kwôrts)
- A very hard crystalline form of silicon dioxide used in chemical apparatus and in optical and electric instruments.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
quartz
[kwôrts]
- A hard, transparent trigonal mineral that, after feldspar, is the most common mineral on the surface of the Earth. It occurs as a component of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks as well as in a variety of other forms such as rock crystal, flint, and agate. Some crystalline forms, such as amethyst, are considered gemstones. Chemical formula: SiO2.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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