hercynite

[hur-suh-nahyt]

noun

1. a black oxide mineral, FeAl 2 O 4 , of the spinel group.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hercynite¹

< German Hercynit (1839), equivalent to Latin Hercyn ( ia silva ) the Hercynian Forest (referring to the Erz Mountains and other wooded ranges N of the Danube) + German -it -ite ¹

Example Sentences

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.

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Some of the alumina and iron oxide may occasionally be chemically combined, so as to form an iron spinel, or hercynite.

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