microcline

[mahy-kruh-klahyn]

noun

a mineral of the feldspar group, potassium aluminum silicate, KAlSi3O8, identical in composition with orthoclase but having triclinic instead of monoclinic crystals, used in making porcelain.

Origin of microcline

1840–50; micro- + -cline < Greek klī́nein to lean¹, referring to the angles between its cleavage planes, which differ slightly from 90°

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for microcline

Historical Examples of microcline

At Danbury the mineral occurs with microcline and oligoclase embedded in dolomite.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9
Various
The common color of microcline is white to pale yellow, but occasionally green and red occur.
Birds and Nature, Vol. 12 No. 2 [July 1902]
Various
Orthoclase and microcline feldspar are used in the manufacture of porcelain and chinaware.
Geology
William J. Miller
The felspar of the granulites is mostly orthoclase or cryptoperthite; microcline, oligoclase and albite are also common.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for microcline

microcline

noun

a white, creamy yellow, red, or green mineral of the feldspar group, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks: used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Composition: potassium aluminium silicate. Formula: KAlSi 3 O 8 . Crystal structure: triclinic

Word Origin for microcline

C19: from German Mikroklin, from mikro- micro- + Greek klinein to lean; so called because its cleavage plane is slightly different from 90°

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

microcline in Science

microcline

[mī′krō-klīn′]

A white, pink, red-brown, or green type of potassium feldspar. It is dimorphous with orthoclase feldspar, differing from it in shape and in the fact that it forms at lower temperatures.Chemical formula: KAlSi3O8.