margarite

[mahr-guh-rahyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR margarite ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Mineralogy.

a gray, pink, or yellow mica, occurring in brittle monoclinic crystals.
an aggregate of small, rudimentary crystals resembling minute globules in a row: found in glassy volcanic rocks.

Obsolete. a pearl.

Origin of margarite

before 1000; Middle English, Old English: pearl < Latin margarīta < Greek margarī́tēs, perhaps < Iranian (compare Pahlavi marvārīt pearl), with final element conformed to Greek -ītēs -ite¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for margarite

seed, jewel, nacre

Examples from the Web for margarite

Historical Examples of margarite

Margarite did the honors in a state of dazed incomprehension.
Just Patty
Jean Webster
Margarite receives the letter and reads it with a contemptuous laugh.
Christopher Columbus, Complete
Filson Young
Yet he believed that what was told pertained to men of Margarite, not to that cavalier himself.
1492
Mary Johnston
They gave us many little bags of margarite and pulverized galena, with which they rub the face.
Original Narratives of Early American History
Vaca and Others
In default of these, all the daughters together, Margarite and Charlotte Stiles, or their issue.
A Short History of Women's Rights
Eugene A. Hecker

British Dictionary definitions for margarite

margarite

noun

a pink pearly micaceous mineral consisting of hydrated calcium aluminium silicate. Formula: CaAl 4 Si 2 O 10 (OH) 2

an aggregate of minute beadlike masses occurring in some glassy igneous rocks

Word Origin for margarite

C19: via German from Greek margaron pearl

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

Word Origin and History for margarite

"a pearl," late Old English, from Late Latin margarita (see Margaret). Figuratively, "that which is precious or excellent, a priceless quality or attribute;" also used as an epithet for Christ, Mary, etc., late 13c. Also margerie (mid-14c.).