Magnesiann.adj.1
/maɡˈniːʒn/, /maɡˈniːzɪən/, U.S. /ˌmæɡˈniʒən/, /ˌmæɡˈniziən/ Now historical.
A. n.
A member of a people of ancient Thessalia, who founded several cities in Asia Minor, most notably Magnesia on the Maeander.Also called by the ancient Greek form of their name, Magnetes, in English sources from the 16th cent. onwards.
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1574 B. Rich Right Exelent Dialogue Mercury & Eng. Souldier sig. F8 The besieged are sometymes beguyled by signifying unto them some victory gotten, as did Pelopidas of Thebes,..pursuing to conquer two Townes at one instant of the Magnecians.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 756 Then the Magnesians sent From Towns upon the banks of Peneus, And sides of Pelion mountain eminent, Forty good ships.
1832 J. A. Cramer Geogr. Descr. Asia Minor I. vi. 459 Magnesia [on the Maeander]..founded by a colony of Magnesians from near Dotium in Thessaly,..was able to cope with success against..Ephesus... Subsequently, however, the Magnesians were overcome by the Treres, a Thracian horde which overran Ionia and Lydia.
1935 H. D. Westlake Thessaly in 4th Cent. B.C. ix. 200 Philip had deprived the Thessalians and Magnesians of their independence.
1983 S. Hornblower Greek World xvii. 246 By her alliances with the Magnesians and Phthiotic Achaians, now split off from the rest of Thessaly, Thebes controlled 16 of the 24 votes in the Amphictyony.
B. adj.1
Of or relating to the Magnesians or their territories. magnesian stone n. [after ancient Greek ἡ Μαγνῆτις λίθος, ἡ Μαγνησίη λίθος; compare classical Latin Magnēsium saxum] a lodestone, a magnet (see magnes n., magnesia n.).
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1604 T. Winter tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Third Dayes Creation 26 Magnesian praise, undrawing drawing stone.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 158 Likewise the Cimbrian, Hircanian, and Magnesian Dogs.
1650 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica (ed. 2) ii. iii. 57 Whether by the Magnesian stone, he understood the Loadstone; did not Achilles Statius define the same, the stone that loveth Iron.
1792 Encycl. Brit. X. 427/2 The ancients reckoned five kinds of magnets, different in colour and virtue; the Ethiopic, Magnesian, Bœotic, Alexandrian and Natolian.
1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 217/2 Magnesia... (2) A city of Lydia, about 40 miles north-east of Smyrna..often called Magnesia ad Sipylum. It is probable..that it was founded, like the city of the same name in the valley of the Mæander, by Magnesian Colonists from Thessaly.
1935 H. D. Westlake Thessaly in 4th Cent. B.C. 238 Though Herodotus..has confused the passes leading from Macedonia, his narrative is so vivid and accurate that he must at least have visited..some part of the Magnesian coast.
1993 Dict. National Biogr.: Missing Persons 728/2 Whilst excavating in the ancient theatre at Ephesus, he found an inscription in Greek referring to..statuettes, which..were carried from the temple to the theatre by way of the Magnesian Gate.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
magnesianadj.2
/maɡˈniːʒn/, /maɡˈniːzɪən/, /maɡˈniːʃn/, U.S. /mæɡˈniʒən/, /mæɡˈniʃən/ 1. Chiefly Geology.
a. Of the nature of magnesia; of, relating to, or containing magnesium salts.
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > magnesium > [adjective]
magnesian1788
magnesiated1796
1788 W. Nicholson tr. A.-F. de Fourcroy Elements Nat. Hist. & Chem. II. ii. §2. iv. 24 Magnesian fluor.
1794 R. J. Sulivan View of Nature I. 434 The five simple earths are, the calcareous, the ponderous, the magnesian or muriatic, the argillaceous, and the siliceous.
1807 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. (ed. 3) II. 476 Magnesia has a very marked affinity for alumina... This affinity was first pointed out by Mr. Chenevix in his analysis of magnesian stones.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 33 In 1756 Dr. Black published his admirable researches on calcareous, magnesian, and alkaline substances.
1882 Rep. Precious Metals (U.S. Bureau of Mint) 622 This earth has a magnesian or chalky aspect.
1923 Geol. Mag. 60 551 Most of the alnoites..have a more highly magnesian composition than the parent magma.
1990 Jrnl. Petrol. 31 1247 The most magnesian groundmass olivines consistently occur in the most oxidised lavas.
b. magnesian limestone n. a limestone containing magnesium salts; spec. (also with capital initials) a stratigraphic division of the Permian system in north-east England.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > stratigraphic units > [noun] > primary or Palaeozoic > Permian > specific
roach1798
Zechstein1798
magnesian limestone1799
1799 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 89 309 Magnesian limestone may be easily distinguished from that which is purely calcareous, by the slowness of its solution in acids.
1836 T. Thomson Outl. Mineral. II. 142 The magnesian limestone begins at Tynemouth, and extends..as far as Nottingham.
1865 C. Lyell Elem. Geol. (ed. 6) 456 For the lower, or Magnesian Limestone division of English Geologists, Sir R. Murchison proposed, in 1841, the name of Permian.
1903 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 4) II. 1071 Its strata are not red, but consist of a lower zone of hard brown shale..and an upper mass of dolomite (Magnesian Limestone).
1990 Antiquaries Jrnl. 70 16 The solid geology is Magnesian Limestone which outcrops in parts of the wood.
2. Mineralogy. [See -ian suffix 2] Of a mineral: having a proportion of a constituent element replaced by magnesium.
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the world > the earth > minerals > change processes > [adjective] > having proportion replaced
titanian1813
aluminian1930
ferrian1930
ferroan1930
fluorian1930
lithian1930
magnesian1930
manganoan1930
molybdenian1930
nickelian1930
plumbian1930
sodian1930
strontian1930
tantalian1930
thorian1930
vanadian1930
molybdian1951
niobian1956
1930 W. T. Schaller in Amer. Mineralogist 15 571/2 Magnesium—magnesian.
1951 C. Palache et al. Dana's Syst. Mineral. (ed. 7) II. 503 Cuprian melanterite and pisanite are obtained from solutions containing added copper sulfate; and magnesian and other compositional variants may be similarly obtained by appropriate additions.
1968 I. Kostov Mineral. ii. ix. 498 Kirovite a magnesian variety [of melanterite].
1980 Mineral. Abstr. 31 82/2 Umohoite from Shinkolobwe, Shaba, Zaïre.., is regarded as a magnesian variety.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.11574
adj.21788