zircon

zir·con

Z0019400 (zûr′kŏn′)n. A brown to colorless mineral, ZrSiO₄, which is heated, cut, and polished to form a brilliant blue-white gem.

[German Zirkon (originally in obsolete scientific German Zirkonerde, zirconium oxide, coined by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817), who first isolated it from a jacinth), probably partly from Arabic zarqūn, minium, bright red (from Persian zargūn, gold-colored, from Middle Persian zargōn, golden : zarr, zar-, golden from Old Iranian *zarna-; see ghel- in Indo-European roots + gōn, color, from Old Iranian *gaona-; akin to Sanskrit guṇaḥ, string, thread, quality), and partly from European terms for "jacinth" such as French jargon (from Old French jargonce, ultimately from Latin hyacinthus; see hyacinth).]

zircon

(ˈzɜːkɒn) n (Minerals) a reddish-brown, grey, green, blue, or colourless hard mineral consisting of zirconium silicate in tetragonal crystalline form with hafnium and some rare earths as impurities. It occurs principally in igneous rocks and is an important source of zirconium, zirconia, and hafnia: it is used as a gemstone and a refractory. Formula: ZrSiO4[C18: from German Zirkon, from French jargon, via Italian and Arabic, from Persian zargūn golden]

zir•con

(ˈzɜr kɒn)

n. a mineral, zirconium silicate, ZrSiO₄, occurring in small tetragonal crystals or grains of various colors, usu. opaque: used as a gem when transparent. [1785–95; < German Zirkon]

zir·con

(zûr′kŏn′) A brown, reddish to bluish, gray, green, or colorless mineral that is a silicate of zirconium and occurs in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, and especially in sand. The colorless varieties are valued as gems.

Thesaurus

Noun

zircon - a common mineral occurring in small crystals; chief source of zirconium; used as a refractory when opaque and as a gem when transparentzirconium silicateatomic number 40, zirconium, Zr - a lustrous grey strong metallic element resembling titanium; it is used in nuclear reactors as a neutron absorber; it occurs in baddeleyite but is obtained chiefly from zirconmineral - solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical compositionhyacinth, jacinth - a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstonejargoon, jargon - a colorless (or pale yellow or smoky) variety of zircon

Translations

Zirkonzirconzircone

zircon

a reddish-brown, grey, green, blue, or colourless hard mineral consisting of zirconium silicate in tetragonal crystalline form with hafnium and some rare earths as impurities. It occurs principally in igneous rocks and is an important source of zirconium, zirconia, and hafnia: it is used as a gemstone and a refractory. Formula: ZrSiO₄

Zircon

(from the German Zirkon; original source, Persian zargun, “golden”), a mineral, a nesosilicate with the composition Zr[SiO₄]. Distinctions are made between zircons on the basis of impurity content: alvite contains hafnium and thorium, oyamalite contains transition metals and phosphorus, hagathalite contains transition metals and niobium, and naegite contains transition metals, thorium, niobium, and tantalum. Metamict dipyramidal zircons containing thorium, uranium, and water (Th > U) are called malacons, while prismatic zircons (Th < U) are called cyrtolites. Honey yellow, red-brown, and pink transparent zircons are called hyacinths. Metacolloidal, collomorphic zircons are called arshinovites.

Zircon crystallizes in the tetragonal system, forming tabular, short prismatic, or, less often, dipyramidal crystals. Regular concretions with xenotime, YPO₄, are frequent. Zircons are brownish yellow to brown, grayish, red, or pink; they may sometimes be colorless. Zircons are transparent to translucent. They usually exhibit no cleavage. Zircons have a hardness of 7–8 on Mohs’ scale and a density of 4,680–4,710 kg/m³ (in the metamict varieties, the hardness and density are less).

Zircon is a characteristic accessory mineral in granites and nepheline syenites and their effusive analogues, as well as of various metamorphic and terrigenous sedimentary rocks; large zircon deposits are found in granitic and alkaline pegmatites. Zircon sometimes concentrates in industrial quantities together with pyrochlore in zones of albitization of alkali rocks. Upon weathering of rocks containing zircon, the mineral may form alluvial deposits. Large reserves of zircon are found in the littoral-marine deposits on the Atlantic coast of the USA (Florida), on the island of Sri Lanka, and in eastern Australia.

Zircon is the major source for the production of zirconium, hafnium, and zirconium oxide (zirconium dioxide). Pure zircon sands are used in mold casting, as well as a starting material in the production of refractories and special ceramic materials. Hyacinth and transparent yellow and green zircons are used in jewelry-making (class II gems).

A. I. GINZBURG

zircon

[′zər‚kän] (mineralogy) ZrSiO₄ A brown, green, pale-blue, red, orange, golden-yellow, grayish, or colorless neosilicate mineral occurring in tetragonal prisms; it is the chief source of zirconium; the colorless varieties provide brilliant gemstones. Also known as hyacinth; jacinth; zirconite.

zircon

zir·con

zircon

zir•con

zir·con

zircon

zircon

Zircon

zircon

zircon

Synonyms for zircon

noun a common mineral occurring in small crystals

Synonyms

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