chrysoberyl

[kris-uh-ber-uhl]

noun

1. a mineral, beryllium aluminate, BeAl 2 O 4 , occurring in green or yellow crystals, sometimes used as a gem.

chrysoberyl

/ ˈkrɪsəˌbɛrɪl /

noun

1. a rare very hard greenish-yellow mineral consisting of beryllium aluminate in orthorhombic crystalline form and occurring in coarse granite: used as a gemstone in the form of cat's eye and alexandrite. Formula: BeAl 2 O 4

Word History and Origins

Origin of chrysoberyl¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin chrȳsoberyllus < Greek chrȳsobḗryllos, equivalent to chrȳso- chryso- + bḗryllos beryl

Example Sentences

Other stones of less value—such as topaz, spinel, chrysoberyl, chrysolite, zircon and tourmaline—are sometimes called “fancy stones.”

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The great attraction of the sale was "The Hindoo Lingam God," consisting of a chrysoberyl cat's-eye fixed in a topaz, and mounted in a pyramidal base studded with diamonds and precious stones.

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Other precious stones found in Brazil are the topaz, ruby aquamarine, tourmaline, chrysoberyl, garnet and amethyst.

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Like the chrysoberyl, it is obtained chiefly from Ceylon, but though coming from the East it is often called “occidental cat’s-eye”—a term intended simply to distinguish it from the finer or “oriental” stone.

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When twinned on the prism planes o, as is frequently the case, the crystals simulate hexagonal symmetry still more closely, as in the minerals aragonite and chrysoberyl.

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