sylvanite

[ sil-vuh-nahyt ]

noun
  1. a mineral, gold silver telluride, (AuAg)Te2, silver-white with metallic luster, often occurring in crystals so arranged as to resemble written characters: an ore of gold.

Origin of sylvanite

1
1790–1800; named after Transylvania; see -ite1

Words Nearby sylvanite

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

How to use sylvanite in a sentence

  • Experience counts a lot, of course, but I do know something about sylvanite, or white gold.

    Rimrock Trail | J. Allan Dunn
  • A small part of the world's supply is obtained from the gold-silver tellurides—calaverite, sylvanite, krennerite, and petzite.

  • This side the exposed reef may have been ground down below the sylvanite.

    Rimrock Trail | J. Allan Dunn
  • But the strikes were rich because sylvanite is one of the richest of all gold ores.

    Rimrock Trail | J. Allan Dunn
  • He figgers this sylvanite lies under this porphyry reef, sabe?

    Rimrock Trail | J. Allan Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for sylvanite

sylvanite

/ (ˈsɪlvəˌnaɪt) /


noun
  1. a silver-white mineral consisting of a telluride of gold and silver in the form of elongated striated crystals: a source of gold in Australia and North America. Formula: (Au,Ag)Te 2

Origin of sylvanite

1
C18: from (Tran) sylvan (ia) + -ite 1, with reference to the region where it was first found

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