Hypertext Webster Gateway: "hornblende"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Amphibole \Am"phi*bole\ ([a^]m"f[i^]*b[=o]l), n. [Gr.
'amfi`bolos doubtful, equivocal, fr. 'amfiba`llein to throw
round, to doubt: cf. F. amphibole. Ha["u]y so named the genus
from the great variety of color and composition assumed by
the mineral.] (Min.)
A common mineral embracing many varieties varying in color
and in composition. It occurs in monoclinic crystals; also
massive, generally with fibrous or columnar structure. The
color varies from white to gray, green, brown, and black. It
is a silicate of magnesium and calcium, with usually
aluminium and iron. Some common varieties are {tremolite},
{actinolite}, {asbestus}, {edenite}, {hornblende} (the last
name being also used as a general term for the whole
species). Amphibole is a constituent of many crystalline
rocks, as syenite, diorite, most varieties of trachyte, etc.
See {Hornblende}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Hornblende \Horn"blende`\, n. [G., fr. horn horn + blende
blende.] (Min.)
The common black, or dark green or brown, variety of
amphibole. (See {Amphibole}.) It belongs to the aluminous
division of the species, and is also characterized by its
containing considerable iron. Also used as a general term to
include the whole species.
{Hornblende schist} (Geol.), a hornblende rock of schistose
structure.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
hornblende
n : a green to black mineral of the amphibole group; consists of
silicates of calcium and sodium and magnesium and iron
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