sylvanite

American

[sil-vuh-nahyt] / ˈsɪl vəˌnaɪt /

noun

a mineral, gold silver telluride, (AuAg)Te 2 , silver-white with metallic luster, often occurring in crystals so arranged as to resemble written characters: an ore of gold.

sylvanite British

/ ˈsɪlvəˌnaɪt /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of sylvanite

1790–1800; named after Transylvania; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Chunks of sylvanite that sweat gold in the fire.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

But the strikes were rich because sylvanite is one of the richest of all gold ores.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

He 'lows it's sylvanite, same as they have over to Boulder County in Colorado.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023