chrysoprase

chrys·o·prase

C0342800 (krĭs′ə-prāz′)n. An apple-green chalcedony used as a gemstone.

[Middle English crisopase, from Old French crisopras, from Latin chrȳsoprasus, from Greek khrūsoprasos : khrūso-, chryso- + prason, leek.]

chrysoprase

(ˈkrɪsəˌpreɪz) n (Minerals) an apple-green variety of chalcedony: a gemstone[C13 crisopace, from Old French, from Latin chrӯsoprasus, from Greek khrusoprasos, from chryso- + prason leek]

chrys•o•prase

(ˈkrɪs əˌpreɪz)

n. a green variety of chalcedony sometimes used as a gem. [1250–1300; Middle English < Latin chrȳsoprasus < Greek chrȳsóprasos=chrȳso- chryso- + -prasos, derivative of práson leek]

Thesaurus

Noun

chrysoprase - a green variety of chalcedony valued as a gemstonecalcedony, chalcedony - a milky or greyish translucent to transparent quartztransparent gem - a gemstone having the property of transmitting light without serious diffusion

Chrysoprase

chrysoprase

[′kris·ə‚prāz] (mineralogy) An apple-green variety of chalcedony that contains nickel; used as a gem. Also known as green chalcedony.

Chrysoprase

a mineral; a green variety of chalcedony (see), with the color ranging from emerald green to grass and apple green, caused by microinclusions of nickel silicates. Chrysoprase has a vitreous or greasy luster. It is translucent and sometimes opalescent. In large segregations the degree of translucence and intensity of color varies. Chrysoprase occurs in the form of veins and veinlets in the weathering crust of ultrabasic rocks. Its formation is believed to be caused by hypergenic processes of chemical weathering of dunites and serpentinites or with the hydrothermal alteration of these rocks.

Chrysoprase is an attractive gem and semiprecious stone. It has been known and mined in Europe since the 14th century and was extensively used in the 17th and 18th centuries to make jewelry, church utensils, Florentine mosaics, and inlays. The largest deposit now being worked is at Marlborough in Australia; other deposits are found in Poland, the United States, and Brazil. In the USSR chrysoprase occurs in the Urals and in Kazakhstan.

chrysoprase

put in mouth, renders bearer invisible. [Gem Symbolism: Kunz, 67–68]See: Invisibility

chrysoprase

chrys·o·prase

chrysoprase

chrys•o•prase

Chrysoprase

chrysoprase

Chrysoprase

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chrysoprase

Words related to chrysoprase

noun a green variety of chalcedony valued as a gemstone

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