cordierite

[ kawr-dee-uh-rahyt ]
/ ˈkɔr di əˌraɪt /

noun

a strongly dichroic blue mineral consisting of a silicate of magnesium, aluminum, and iron: common in metamorphic rocks.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Also called dichroite, iolite.

Origin of cordierite

1805–15; named after Pierre L. A. Cordier (1777–1861), French geologist; see -ite1

Words nearby cordierite

cordeliers, cordelle, cordgrass, cordial, cordiality, cordierite, cordiform, cordiform pelvis, cordiform uterus, cordillera, cordillera central
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for cordierite

cordierite
/ (ˈkɔːdɪəˌraɪt) /

noun

a grey or violet-blue dichroic mineral that consists of magnesium aluminium iron silicate in orthorhombic crystalline form and is found in metamorphic rocks. Formula: (Mg,Fe) 2 AL 4 Si 5 O 18 .nH 2 OAlso called: dichroite, iolite

Word Origin for cordierite

C19: named after Pierre L. A. Cordier (1777–1861), French geologist who described it
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 cordierite

cordierite
[ kôr′dē-ə-rīt′ ]

A light-blue to dark-blue or gray orthorhombic mineral. Cordierite is a silicate of magnesium, aluminum, and sometimes iron, and is found in granites and in metamorphic rocks that form under relatively low-pressure conditions. Chemical formula: (Mg,Fe)2Al4Si5O18.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.