chatoyant

[ shuh-toi-uhnt ]
See synonyms for chatoyant on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. changing in luster or color: chatoyant silk.

  2. Jewelry. reflecting a single streak of light when cut in a cabochon.

noun
  1. Jewelry. a cabochon-cut gemstone having this reflected streak, as a chrysoberyl cat's eye.

Origin of chatoyant

1
First recorded in 1790–1800; from French, present participle of chatoyer “to change luster like a cat's eye,” derivative of chat “cat”; cf. cat

Other words from chatoyant

  • cha·toy·ance, cha·toy·an·cy, noun

Words Nearby chatoyant

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How to use chatoyant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chatoyant

chatoyant

/ (ʃəˈtɔɪənt) /


adjective
  1. having changeable lustre; twinkling

  2. (of a gem, esp a cabochon) displaying a band of light reflected off inclusions of other minerals

noun
  1. a gemstone with a changeable lustre, such as a cat's eye

Origin of chatoyant

1
C18: from French, from chatoyer to gleam like a cat's eyes, from chat cat 1

Derived forms of chatoyant

  • chatoyancy, noun

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