agate
a variegated chalcedony showing curved, colored bands or other markings.
a playing marble made of this substance, or of glass in imitation of it.
Printing. a 5½-point type of a size between pearl and nonpareil.: Compare ruby (def. 6).
Origin of agate
1Other words from agate
- ag·ate·like, ag·a·toid, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use agate in a sentence
Agates, cornelians, obsidian, are also among the products of this nature.
Mexico | Charles Reginald EnockHer eyes were unusually dark, but they had blue rays, and were as clear and beautiful as agates held under water.
Unveiling a Parallel | Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella MarchantThe high altar is composed of rich marbles, agates, and jaspers of great rarity, the produce of this kingdom.
The Book of Curiosities | I. PlattsBeneath his feet are pebbles of agates; the water is of the most crystalline purity.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820 | Henry Rowe SchoolcraftWho was it boiled the Easter eggs hard as agates, which you gave to my poor brother Recollets for the use of our convent?
The Golden Dog | William Kirby
British Dictionary definitions for agate (1 of 3)
/ (ˈæɡɪt) /
an impure microcrystalline form of quartz consisting of a variegated, usually banded chalcedony, used as a gemstone and in making pestles and mortars, burnishers, and polishers. Formula: SiO 2
a playing marble of this quartz or resembling it
Also called: ruby printing, US and Canadian (formerly) a size of printer's type approximately equal to 5 1/2 point
Origin of agate
1British Dictionary definitions for agate (2 of 3)
/ (əˈɡeɪt) /
Northern English dialect on the way
Origin of agate
2British Dictionary definitions for Agate (3 of 3)
/ (ˈæɡeɪt) /
James (Evershed). 1877–1947, British theatre critic; drama critic for The Sunday Times (1923–47) and author of a nine-volume diary Ego (1935–49)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for agate
[ ăg′ĭt ]
A type of very fine-grained quartz found in various colors that are arranged in bands or in cloudy patterns. The bands form when water rich with silica enters empty spaces in rock, after which the silica comes out of solution and forms crystals, gradually filling the spaces from the outside inward. The different colors are the result of various impurities in the water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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