chalcedony

American  

[kal-sed-n-ee, kal-suh-doh-nee] / kælˈsɛd n i, ˈkæl səˌdoʊ ni /

noun

chalcedonies plural

1. a microcrystalline, translucent variety of quartz, often milky or grayish.

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chalcedony British  

/ kælˈsɛdənɪ, ˌkælsɪˈdɒnɪk /

noun

1. a microcrystalline often greyish form of quartz with crystals arranged in parallel fibres: a gemstone. Formula: SiO 2

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chalcedony Scientific  

/ kăl-sĕd′n-ē /

1. A type of quartz that has a waxy luster and varies from transparent to translucent. It is usually white, pale-blue, gray, brown, or black and is often found as a lining in cavities. Agate, flint, and onyx are forms of chalcedony. Chemical formula: SiO ₂ .

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chalcedonic
  adjective
• chalcedonous
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chalcedonies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chalcedony

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English calcedonie, from Late Latin chalcēdōnius (Vulgate, Revelation 21:19), equivalent to chalcēdōn- (from Greek chalkēdṓn “chalcedony,” identified by Saint Jerome with Chalcedon, the city) + -ius adjective suffix; see -ious

Example Sentences

The Province contains rivers which bring down Jasper and Chalcedony, and these are carried for sale into Cathay, where they fetch great prices.

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Yule, Henry

The Greek Jaspis was in reality, according to Mr. King, a green Chalcedony.

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Yule, Henry

The Pedestals of the six Tombs are overcast with Porphyry and a sort of Agat call’d Chalcedony, on which are inscrib’d, in Letters of Gold, the Epitaphs of the Princes whose Bodies are therein contain’d.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume IV Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Spear-head of Chalcedony; one of a pair supposed to be spears of State: found in excavating for the Casa Grande, Tezcuco.

From Anahuac : or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern by Tylor, Edward Burnett

Chalcedony is generally one of the earlier deposits and crystallized quartz one of later formation.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg