spinel
or spi·nelle
any of a group of minerals composed principally of oxides of magnesium, aluminum, iron, manganese, chromium, etc., characterized by their hardness and octahedral crystals.
a mineral of this group, essentially magnesium aluminate, MgAl2O4, some varieties being used as gems.
Origin of spinel
1Words Nearby spinel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use spinel in a sentence
The rock—which also contains the plain-old mineral plagioclase—includes pink spinel, a prized jewel on Earth.
Space Bling: From Diamond Planets to Crystal Oceans to Precious Moon Jewels | Alexa Valiente, Jaewon Kang | October 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe rubies of Burma are found in crystalline limestones and are constantly accompanied by precious spinel (or balas-ruby).
Some of the alumina and iron oxide may occasionally be chemically combined, so as to form an iron spinel, or hercynite.
Then follows the topaz, which, with spinel and chrysoberyl, has a hardness of 8; whilst quartz falls a degree lower.
Mention has been made above of a stone frequently substituted for the true ruby, called the “spinel” or “balas” ruby.
The spinel and ruby occur together in nature, stones from Burma being as often spinel as true Oriental ruby.
British Dictionary definitions for spinel
/ (spɪˈnɛl) /
any of a group of hard glassy minerals of variable colour consisting of oxides of aluminium, magnesium, chromium, iron, zinc, or manganese and occurring in the form of octahedral crystals: used as gemstones
a hard, glassy mineral composed of magnesium-aluminium oxide found in metamorphosed limestones and many basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks. Formula: MgAl 2 O 4
Origin of spinel
1Collins 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 spinel
A hard, variously colored cubic mineral, having usually octahedral crystals and occurring in igneous and metamorphosed carbonate rocks. The red variety is valued as a gem and is sometimes confused with the ruby. Chemical formula: MgAl2O4.
Any of a group of minerals that are oxides of magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, or aluminum.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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