nephrite
[nef-rahyt]
- Mineralogy. a compact or fibrous variety of actinolite, varying from whitish to dark green: a form of jade.
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Origin of nephrite
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for nephrite
Historical Examples
Both are made of the same material (nephrite) and both have their glyphs incised instead of carved.
An Introduction to the Study of the Maya HieroglyphsSylvanus Griswold Morley
Beside the commoner minerals five to eight per cent of implements made of nephritoids (nephrite, jadeite, and chloromelanite).
The New Stone Age in Northern EuropeJohn M. Tyler
Nephrite was also perhaps the first of all stones to be used ornamentally.
The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume IIA.E. Nordenskieold
But works executed in these minerals do not fetch a price at all comparable to that of nephrite.
The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume IIA.E. Nordenskieold
Whilst the term jade is popularly used in this sense, it is now usually restricted by mineralogists to nephrite.
nephrite
- a tough fibrous amphibole mineral: a variety of jade consisting of calcium magnesium silicate in monoclinic crystalline form. Formula: Ca 2 Mg 5 Si 8 O 22 (OH) 2Also called: kidney stone
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Word Origin
C18: via German Nephrit from Greek nephrós kidney, so called because it was thought to be beneficial in kidney disorders
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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nephrite
[nĕf′rīt′]
- A green to blue variety of jade. Nephrite is an amphibole and is the least precious form of jade. Chemical formula: Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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