gahnite

American

[gah-nahyt] / ˈgɑ naɪt /

noun

a dark-green to black mineral of the spinel group, zinc aluminate, ZnAl 2 O 4 .

gahnite British

/ ˈɡɑːnaɪt /

noun

a dark green mineral of the spinel group consisting of zinc aluminium oxide. Formula: ZnAl 2 O 4

"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

Etymology

Origin of gahnite

1800–10; named after J. G. Gahn (1745–1818), Swedish chemist; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Spinel, spin′el, or spi-nel′, n. a mineral composed chiefly of magnesia and alumina, and crystallising in octahedra—ruby, or magnesia spinel, reddish; pleonaste, dark green to black; picotite, or chrome spinel, black; gahnite, or zinc spinel, green to brown; hercynite, or iron spinel, black.

From Project Gutenberg

Associated with franklinite at Franklin Furnace, and found also at some other localities, is another member of the spinel group, namely, gahnite or zinc-spinel, which is a zinc aluminate, ZnAl2O4, with a little of the zinc replaced by iron and manganese.

From Project Gutenberg

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