nounany of a large group of minerals consisting of the silicates of calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, and aluminium, usually in the form of long slender dark-coloured crystals. Members of the group, including hornblende, actinolite, and tremolite, are common constituents of igneous rocks
Word origin
C17: from French, from Greek
amphibolos uncertain; so called from the large number of varieties in the group