chatoyementn.
rare.
Changing or undulating lustre; play of colour.
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the world > matter > colour > variegation > iridescence > [noun]
waving1662
chatoyant1798
iridescence1804
pavonine1805
chatoyement1816
reflet1849
nacreness1862
iridization1884
nacreosity1931
1816 P. Cleaveland Elem. Treat. Mineral. & Geol. 41 Changeable colors, or chatoyement, or play of colors; irised colors... For the former, which is the most beautiful, we have mentioned the French term chatoyement, because it is expressive, and because there is no word in English, by which it may be translated.
1816 P. Cleaveland Elem. Treat. Mineral. & Geol. 41 A mineral is said to exhibit changeable colors, or a chatoyement, when different collections of colors alternately appear and disappear.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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n.1816