Muscovite

[muhs-kuh-vahyt]

noun

a native or inhabitant of Moscow.

a native or inhabitant of the Grand Duchy of Muscovy.

Also called white mica. (lowercase) Mineralogy. common light-colored mica, essentially KAl3Si3O10(OH)2, used as an electrical insulator.

Archaic. a Russian.

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Moscow, Muscovy, or the Muscovites.

Origin of Muscovite

First recorded in 1545–55; Muscov(y) + -ite¹

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

Examples from the Web for muscovite

Contemporary Examples of muscovite

A year ago, she was dating a Muscovite and considering moving there to advance her career as a fashion designer.
Kiev Defiant at Russian Aggression
Vijai Maheshwari
March 5, 2014
For a young Muscovite girl, for example, with whom you schoolkids have been exchanging letters of friendship.
Ismail Kadare: How I Write
Noah Charney
January 31, 2013

Historical Examples of muscovite

The Muscovite wife then takes place of the managed mistress.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
What could be the Pope's concern in the Muscovite succession?
The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second Series
Rafael Sabatini
My forefathers have tasted more than once of Muscovite generosity.
The Traitors
E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
When I visited the Muscovite realm in after years I was more kindly received.
Memoirs
Charles Godfrey Leland
But the Muscovite was a grim, mysterious figure they feared and hated.
Masters of the Wheat-Lands
Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for muscovite

muscovite

noun

a pale brown, or green, or colourless mineral of the mica group, found in plutonic rocks such as granite and in sedimentary rocks. It is used in the manufacture of lubricants, insulators, paints, and Christmas "snow". Composition: potassium aluminium silicate. Formula: KAl 2 (AlSi 3)O 10 (OH) 2 . Crystal structure: monoclinicSee also mica

Word Origin for muscovite

C19: from the phrase Muscovy glass, an early name for mica

Muscovite

noun

a native or inhabitant of Moscow

adjective

an archaic word for Russian

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

muscovite in Science

muscovite

[mŭs′kə-vīt′]

A usually colorless to yellow or pale-gray mica. Muscovite is a monoclinic mineral and is found in igneous rocks, such as granites and pegmatites, metamorphic rocks, such as schists and gneisses, and in many sedimentary rocks. Chemical formula: KAl2(AlSi3)O10(OH)2.