sphene

American  

[sfeen] / sfin /

noun

1. a mineral, calcium titanium silicate, CaTiSiO 5 , occurring as an accessory mineral in a variety of crystalline rocks, usually in small wedge-shaped crystals.

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sphene British  

/ sfiːn /

noun

1. Also called: titanite.  a brown, yellow, green, or grey lustrous mineral consisting of calcium titanium silicate in monoclinic crystalline form. It occurs in metamorphic and acid igneous rocks and is used as a gemstone. Formula: CaTiSiO 5

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sphene Scientific  

/ sfēn /

1. A brown or yellow monoclinic mineral occurring as an accessory mineral in igneous and metamorphic rocks. It usually occurs as wedge or lozenge-shaped crystals. Chemical formula: CaTiSiO ₅.

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Etymology

Origin of sphene

First recorded in 1805–15, sphene is from the Greek word sphḗn wedge

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sphene

A banded and mottled calc-silicate hornfels occurring with the limestone at Iyerry Falls, W. N.W. of Braemar, has yielded malacolite, wollastonite, brown idocrase, garnet, sphene and hornblende.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

The rarer stones, sphene and epidote, likewise exhibit this property markedly.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Frank Bertram Wade

Among these were the Siberian and Brazilian topaz, borate of magnesia, mesotype, sphene, and calamine.

From Catholic Churchmen in Science by James J. Walsh

The iron oxides, originally ilmenite, are usually altered to sphene.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various

EPIDIORITE, in petrology, a typical member of a family of rocks consisting essentially of hornblende and felspar, often with epidote, garnet, sphene, biotite, or quartz, and having usually a foliated structure.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various