olivine

[ ol-uh-veen, ol-uh-veen ]

/ ˈɒl əˌvin, ˌɒl əˈvin /

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noun

Mineralogy. any of a group of magnesium iron silicates, (Mg,Fe)2SiO4, occurring in olive-green to gray-green masses as an important constituent of basic igneous rocks.

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Also called chrysolite.

Origin of olivine

1785–95; <German Olivin, equivalent to Oliveolive + -in-ine²

OTHER WORDS FROM olivine

ol·i·vin·ic

[ol-uh-vin-ik], /ˌɒl əˈvɪn ɪk/, ol·i·vin·it·ic

[ol-uh-vi-nit-ik], /ˌɒl ə vɪˈnɪt ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby olivine

olive shell, olivette, Olivia, Olivier, Olivier, Laurence, olivine, olla, olla podrida, oller, Ollie, olm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use olivine in a sentence

Now, experiments suggest that those same hellish conditions might also sometimes transform olivine — the primary mineral in Earth’s mantle — into the mineral wadsleyite.
Here’s how olivine may trigger deep earthquakes|Nikk Ogasa|September 26, 2022|Science News
In 2004, astronomers used NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope to observe brown dwarfs and spotted spectral signatures of sand — more specifically, grains of silicate minerals such as quartz and olivine.
Sand clouds are common in atmospheres of brown dwarfs|Lisa Grossman|July 8, 2022|Science News
Maria-Elena Vorrath, a researcher at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, said in an email that the study shows the olivine process doesn’t work the way we assumed.
Why using the oceans to suck up CO2 might not be as easy as hoped|James Temple|March 30, 2022|MIT Technology Review
In theory, adding ground up olivine should increase the seawater’s alkalinity, which helps convert carbon in the water into a stable form and allows the oceans to take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Why using the oceans to suck up CO2 might not be as easy as hoped|James Temple|March 30, 2022|MIT Technology Review

He also points to one of Earth’s most common minerals, olivine, as an example.
How minerals and rocks reflect rainbows, glow in the dark, and otherwise blow your mind|Lauren Leffer|June 28, 2021|Popular-Science
The emerald rainstorm contains a bright green mineral of a class called olivine—also known as peridot to us Earth-dwellers.
Space Bling: From Diamond Planets to Crystal Oceans to Precious Moon Jewels|Alexa Valiente, Jaewon Kang|October 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In the more basic phases anhedrons of augite and of olivine appear, and magnetite grains are usually present.
Mount Rainier|Various
Olivine occurs in certain of the Rainier lavas, in stout prisms somewhat rounded and often with reddened borders.
Mount Rainier|Various
It also surrounds olivine in this same rock, which is a hypersthene-andesite, the hornblende and olivine being only accessory.
Mount Rainier|Various
Hypersthene is not the prevailing pyroxene, and olivine is usually present, often in such abundance as to make the rock a basalt.
Mount Rainier|Various
Pic′rīte, one of the peridotites or olivine-rocks; Picrotox′ine, a bitter poisonous principle in the seeds of Cocculus indicus.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for olivine

olivine

/ (ˈɒlɪˌviːn, ˌɒlɪˈviːn) /

noun

an olive-green mineral of the olivine group, found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. The clear-green variety (peridot) is used as a gemstone. Composition: magnesium iron silicate. Formula: (MgFe) 2 SiO 4 . Crystal structure: orthorhombicAlso called: chrysolite

any mineral in the group having the general formula (Mg,Fe,Mn,Ca) 2 SiO 4

Word Origin for olivine

C18: from German, named after its colour

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

Scientific definitions for olivine

olivine

[ ŏl′ə-vēn′ ]

An olive-green to brownish-green orthorhombic mineral. Olivine is a common mineral in the igneous rocks, such as basalt and gabbro, that make up most of the Earth's crust beneath the oceans. Chemical formula: (Mg,Fe)2SiO4. ♦ Olivine in which the mafic component consists entirely of magnesium is called forsterite. Chemical formula: Mg2SiO4.♦ Olivine in which the mafic component consists entirely of iron is called fayalite. Chemical formula: Fe2SiO4.