Hypertext Webster Gateway: "pyroxene"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pyroxene \Pyr"ox*ene\, n. [F. pyrox[`e]ne, from Gr. ? fire + ? a
stranger; -- so called because it was supposed to the be a
stranger, or of rare occurrence, in igneous rocks,] (Min.)
A common mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, with a
prismatic angle of nearly 90[deg], and also in massive forms
which are often laminated. It varies in color from white to
dark green and black, and includes many varieties differing
in color and composition, as diopside, malacolite, salite,
coccolite, augite, etc. They are all silicates of lime and
magnesia with sometimes alumina and iron. Pyroxene is an
essential constituent of many rocks, especially basic igneous
rocks, as basalt, gabbro, etc.
Note: The pyroxene group contains pyroxene proper, also the
related orthorhombic species, enstatite, bronzite,
hypersthene, and various monoclinic and triclinic
species, as rhodonite, etc.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
pyroxene
n : any of a group of crystalline silicate mineral common in
igneous and metamorphic rocks
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.