Hypertext Webster Gateway: "crystal"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Crystal
(Ezek. 1:22, with the epithet "terrible," as dazzling the
spectators with its brightness). The word occurs in Rev. 4:6;
21:11; 22:1. It is a stone of the flint order, the most refined
kind of quartz. The Greek word here used means also literally
"ice." The ancients regarded the crystal as only pure water
congealed into extreme hardness by great length of time.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Crystal \Crys"tal\ (kr?s"tal), n. [OE. cristal, F. cristal, L.
crystallum crystal, ice, fr. Gr. ????, fr. ???? icy cold,
frost; cf. AS. crystalla, fr. L. crystallum; prob. akin to E.
crust. See {Crust}, {Raw}.]
1. (Chem. & Min.) The regular form which a substance tends to
assume in solidifying, through the inherent power of
cohesive attraction. It is bounded by plane surfaces,
symmetrically arranged, and each species of crystal has
fixed axial ratios. See {Crystallization}.
2. The material of quartz, in crystallization transparent or
nearly so, and either colorless or slightly tinged with
gray, or the like; -- called also {rock crystal}.
Ornamental vessels are made of it. Cf. {Smoky quartz},
{Pebble}; also {Brazilian pebble}, under {Brazilian}.
3. A species of glass, more perfect in its composition and
manufacture than common glass, and often cut into
ornamental forms. See {Flint glass}.
4. The glass over the dial of a watch case.
5. Anything resembling crystal, as clear water, etc.
The blue crystal of the seas. --Byron.
{Blood crystal}. See under {Blood}.
{Compound crystal}. See under {Compound}.
{Iceland crystal}, a transparent variety of calcite, or
crystallized calcium carbonate, brought from Iceland, and
used in certain optical instruments, as the polariscope.
{Rock crystal}, or {Mountain crystal}, any transparent
crystal of quartz, particularly of limpid or colorless
quartz.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Crystal \Crys"tal\, a.
Consisting of, or like, crystal; clear; transparent; lucid;
pellucid; crystalline.
Through crystal walls each little mote will peep.
--Shak.
By crystal streams that murmur through the meads.
--Dryden.
The crystal pellets at the touch congeal, And from the
ground rebounds the ratting hail. --H. Brooks.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
crystal
n 1: a solid formed by the solidification of a chemical and
having a highly regular atomic structure
2: a crystalline element used as a component in various
electronic devices
3: a rock formed by the solidification of a substance; has
regularly repeating internal structure; external plane
faces
4: colorless glass made of almost pure silica [syn: {quartz
glass}, {quartz}, {vitreous silica}, {lechatelierite}]
5: glassware made of quartz
6: a protective cover that protects the face of a watch [syn: {watch
crystal}, {watch glass}]
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