Glossary of Terms - The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom

Glossary of Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ALL

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Abrasive	Effervescence	Magma	REE
Absolute hardness	Effervescent	Magmatic	Reflection
Absorption spectra	Effloresce	Magmatite	Reflective
Absorption spectrum	Efflorescence	Magmatite rock	Refract
Accessory mineral	Efflorescent	Magnesia	Refraction
Acicular	Eightling	Magnet	Refractive index
Acid	Elastic	Magnetic	Refractive indices
Acid test	Electric	Magnetic field	Refractometer
Activator	Electrical	Magnetism	Relative density
Adamantine	Electricity	Malleability	Reniform
Adularescence	Electromagnetic radiation	Malleable	Repeated twinning
Adularescent	Electrometallurgy	Mammilary	Repeated twins
Aggregate	Electron	Mantle	Replace
Alkali	Element	Marble	Replaced
Alkali Feldspar	Elements	Marquise	Replacement
Alkaline	Elongated	Massive	Replacing
Alloy	Embedded crystal	Matrix	Resinlike luster
Alloyed	Emerald	Melee	Resinous
Alloying	Emerald cut	Melting point	Resinous luster
Alluvial	Empirical formula	Mesothermal vein	Resistance
Alluvial deposit	Enaniotropic	Metal	Resistant
Alluvion	Encrust	Metallic	Reticulated
Alluvium	Encrustation	Metallic elements	Rhomb
Alpha rays	Encrusting	Metallic luster	Rhomb-scalenohedron
Alpine	End member	Metallurgy	Rhombic
Alpine cavity	Engrave	Metamict	Rhombic dodecahedron
Alter	Engraving	Metamiction	Rhombohedral
Alteration	Environment	Metamorphasized	Rhombohedral cleavage
Altered	Epimorph	Metamorphic	Rhombohedron
Amalgam	Epitaxial overgrowth	Metamorphic rock	Rhyolite
Amber	Epitaxy	Metamorphism	Rift
Ammonia	Epithermal vein	Metamorphosed	Ring silicates
Ammonium hydroxide	Epsom salts	Metasilicate chains	Rock
Amorphous	Equant	Metasilicate rings	Rock crystal
Amphibole	Equidimensional	Metasilicates	Rock shop
Amphibole group	Eroded	Metasomatically	Rock show
Amygdule	Erosion	Metasomatism	Rock-forming mineral
Anhydrous	Euhedral	Metastability	Rosette
Anhydrous borates	Evaporate	Metastable	Rough
Anhydrous sulfates	Evaporation	Meteor	Round
Anion	Evaporite	Meteoric	Rust
Anisotropic	Evaporite deposit	Meteorite	Rusting
Anisotropism	Even	Meteoroid	Rutilated
Anticline	Even fracture	Mica	Rutile twin
Antimonides	Exfoliate	Mica group	Saccharoidal
Apatite group	Extract	Micaceous	Saline
Aqua fortis	Extraction	Microcrystal	Saline deposit
Aqua regia	Extraterrestrial	Microcrystalline	Saline lake
Aqueous	Extrusive	Micromount	Salinity
Aragonite group	Face	Miller Index	Salt
Arborescent	Facet	Miller indices	Salt dome
Argentiferous	Faceted	Mine	Salt Lake
Argillacious	Faceting	Miner	Sand
Arid	Fault	Mineral	Sandstone
Arsenates	Feldspar	Mineral group	Sassuritization
Arsenide	Feldspar group	Mineral series	Scalenohedral
Arsenides	Feldspathoid	Mineral show	Scalenohedron
Asbestos	Feldspathoid group	Mineralogical	Scales
Asbestos amphibole	Felsic	Mineralogically	Scaly
Asterism	Ferrian	Mineralogist	Scepter
Asteroid	Ferroginous	Mineralogy	Schiller
Asymmetrical	Ferromagnetic	Mineraloid	Schist
Atom	Ferromagnetism	Mining	Sclerometer
Atomic	Ferrous	Mixed crystal	Scoria
Atomic structure	Fiber	Mohs Hardness scale	Secondary
Atomical	Fibrous	Mohs Scale	Secondary mineral
Atomical arrangement	Filiform	Molecular	Sectile
Atomically	Fire	Molecular arrangement	Sectility
Auriferous	Fishtail twin	Molecular structure	Sediment
Autochthonous	Fissile	Molecule	Sedimentary
Aventurescence	Fissility	Mollusk	Sedimentary rock
Aventurization	Flaky	Molten	Sedimentation process
Axes	Flame test	Molten rock	Selenides
Axis	Flat	Molybdates	Selvage
Axis of symmetry	Flaw	Monochromatic	Semi-metal
Band	Flawless	Monoclinic	Semi-metallic
Banded	Flexibility	Monotropic	Semi-metallic elements
Banding	Flexible	Mother of pearl luster	Semi-precious
Basal	Flexible and elastic	Mother rock	Semi-precious gemstone
Basal cleavage	Flexible but inelastic	Mother-of-pearl	Series
Basal pinacoid	Floater	Mottled	Setting
Basalt	Floater crystal	Multicolored	Shaft
Base	Flow banding	Multiple oxides	Shale
Basic	Flowstone	Mylonite	Sheaflike
Batholith	Fluoresce	Nacre	Sheet silicates
Bead test	Fluorescence	Nacreous	Shelly fracture
Bed	Fluorescent	Native	Shortwave
Bedding	Fluorescent lamp	Native elements	Silica
Bedrock	Fluorite twin	Natural glass	Silica gel
Belemnite	Fluvial	Nepheline syenite	Silica group
Beta rays	Fluvial deposit	Nesosilicates	Silicafied
Bipyramid	Flux	Neutron	Silicate
Bipyramidal	Fold	Nitrate	Silicates
Bipyramidal hexagon	Foliated	Nitrates	Siliceous
Bipyramidal hexagonal	Form	Nitrates Group	Silky
Bipyramidal hexagonal prism	Formula	Nitric acid	Silky luster
Birefringence	Fossil	Nodular	Sill
Birthstone	Fossiliferous	Nodule	Silt
Bitumen	Fossilization	Non-crystalline	Simple oxides
Bituminous	Fossilize	Non-metallic	Simple sulfides
Bladed	Fossilized	Non-metallic elements	Sinter
Blowpipe test	Fourling	Nonbrittle	Sixling
Boiling point	Fracture	Nonmetal	Skarn
Bond	Framework silicates	Nuclei	Skeletal
Borate	Freezing point	Nucleus	Slab
Borates	Friable	Nugget	Slag
Borax	Fulgurite	Obsidian	Slate
Botryoid	Fumarole	Occurrence	Smelt
Botryoidal	Fusion	Ochre	Smooth fracture
Boule	Gabbro	Octacube	Snakehead
Brass	Gamma rays	Octagon	Soil
Breccia	Gangue	Octahedra	Solid solution
Brecciated	Gangue material	Octahedral	Solidify
Brilliant cut	Garnet Group	Octahedral cleavage	Solubility
Brilliant luster	Garnet paper	Octahedral cube	Soluble
Brine	Geiger counter	Octahedron	Solution
Brittle	Gem	Oil of vitriol	Solvent
Bronze	Gemminess	Oiling	Sorosilicates
Brownspar	Gemmy	Oily luster	Spar
Bullion	Gemological	Oolite	Specific gravity
Cabochon	Gemologist	Oolitic	Specimen
Calcareous	Gemology	Opalesce	Spectra
Calcic	Gemstone	Opalescence	Spectral
Calcite group	Geode	Opalescent	Spectrograph
Cameo	Geologic	Opalization	Spectrometer
Capillary	Geological	Opalize	Spectrophotometer
Carat	Geologist	Opaque	Spectroscope
Carbonate	Geology	Open Pit	Spectroscopy
Carbonates	GIA	Optical	Spectrum
carbonatite	Gilson Process	Optical properties	Sphenoidal
Carlsbad twin	Girdle	Optics	Spherical
Carved	Glass	Ore	Spherulite
Carving	Glassy luster	Organic	Spherulitic
Cassiterite twin	Glauber's salt	Orthorhombic	Spinel twin
Cast	Globular	Orthosilicates	Spinel-law twin
Casting	Gneiss	Outcrop	Splendent luster
Cat's eye	Goniometer	Oval	Splinter
Cat's eye effect	Gossan	Overtone	Splintery
Cation	Grain	Oxidation	Splintery fracture
Catseye	Grainy	Oxidation minerals	Square
Cave	Gram	Oxidation zone	Stable
Cavern	Granite	Oxide	Stalactite
Cavities	Granitic	Oxides	Stalactitic
Cavity	Granular	Oxidize	Stalactitically
Cementation zone	Gravel	Oxidized	Stalagmite
Center of symmetry	Gravity	Oxidized zone	Stalagmitic
Chain silicates	Greasy	Paleontologist	Staurolite twin
Chalk	Greasy luster	Paleontology	Stellate
Chatoyancy	Greenschist	Pallasite	Stock
Chatoyant	Greenstone	Panning	Stone
Chemical	Group	Paragenesis	Strahler
Chemical bond	Grouping	Paramagnetic	Strata
Chemical composition	Guano	Paramagnetism	Stratification
Chemical formula	Gwindel	Paramorph	Stratum
Chemical structure	Habit	Parting	Streak
Chemist	Hackly	Patina	Streak plate
Chemistry	Halides	Pear	Striated
Chert	Halogen	Pearl	Striations
Chondrite	Hard water	Pearly	Structural
Chondrules	Hardness	Pearly luster	Structure
Chromates	Hardness testing kit	Pegmatite	Stubby
Chrysoberyl twin	HCl	Pendant	Stud
Clast	Heart	Penetration	Sub-metallic
Clay	Heat treated	Penetration twin	Subconchoidal
Cleavable	Heat treating	Penetration twinning	Subconchoidal fracture
Cleavage	Heat treatment	Pentagonal dodecahedron	Subgroup
Cleavage angle	Hemimorphic	Percussion figure	Sublimate
Cleavage face	Hemispherical	Peridotite	Sublimation
Cleavage fragment	Hexagon	Periodic table	Submetallic
Cleavage surface	Hexagonal	Perky box	Sulfate
Cleave	Hexagonal bipyramid	Petrifaction	Sulfates
Cleaved	Hexagonal bipyramidal	Petrification	Sulfide
Cleaved surface	Hexagonal shape	Petrified	Sulfides
Cleaving	Hexoctahedral	Petrified wood	Sulfosalt
Clinopinacoid	Hexoctahedron	Petrographer	Sulfosalts
Clinopinacoidal	Hopper	Petrographic microscope	Sulfuric acid
Cluster	Hornfels	Petrography	Surrounding rock
Coal	Host mineral	Petroleum	SW
Coating	Hot spring	Petrologist	Swallowtail twin
Cockscomb	Humite group	Petrology	Syenite
Color	Hydrate	pH	Symmetrical
Columnar	Hydrated	Phantom	Symmetry
Composition	Hydration	Phantom growth	Synthesized
Compound	Hydrocarbons	Phenocryst	Synthetic
Concentric	Hydrochloric acid	Phosphate	Synthetic gem
Conchoidal	Hydrofluoric acid	Phosphates	Tabular
Concretion	Hydrometallurgy	Phosphoresce	Tarnish
Concretionary	Hydrothermal	Phosphorescence	Tectosilicates
Conductivity	Hydrothermal Method	Phosphorescent	Tellurides
Conductor	Hydrothermal Vein	Photochromism	Tenacity
Conglomerate	Hydrous	Phyllosilicates	Tenebrescence
Contact metamorphism	Hydrous borates	Physicist	Tenebrescent
Contact twinning	Hydrous sulfates	Physics	Terminated
Coprolite	Hydroxides	Piezoelectric	Termination
Coral	Hydroxyl	Piezoelectricity	Tetragonal
Core	Hygroscopic	Pinacoid	Tetragonal trisoctahedron
Coxcomb	Hygroscopy	Pinacoidal	Tetrahedral
Crater	Hypothermal vein	Pinacoidal cleavage	Tetrahedron
Crazing	Icosahedra	Pipe	Texture
Crumbly	Icosahedral	Pisolite	Thermal
Crust	Icosahedron	Pisolitic	Thermoluminescence
Crusty	Icosi-tetrahedron	Pit	Thermoluminescent
Cryptocrystalline	Idiochromatic	Pitchlike luster	Thumbnail
Crystal	Igneous	Pitchy	Tourmaline group
Crystal aggregate	Igneous rock	Placer	Transformation
Crystal angle	IMA	Placer deposit	Translucency
Crystal class	Impure	Plagioclase twin	Translucent
Crystal face	Impurities	Plane	Transparency
Crystal group	Impurity	Plane of symmetry	Transparent
Crystal habit	In Situ	Planetoid	Trap rock
Crystal lattice	Included	Plate	Trapezohedra
Crystal structure	Inclusion	Plate-like	Trapezohedral
Crystal symmetry	Incrust	Plated	Trapezohedron
Crystal system	Incrustation	Platy	Trapiche
Crystalline	Incrusting	Playa	Traprock
Crystallization	Index of refraction	Pleochroic	Triboluminescence
Crystallize	Indiscernible	Pleochroism	Triboluminescent
Crystallized	Inelastic	Plug	Trichroic
Crystallographer	Infiltration	Plumose	Trichroism
Crystallographically	Ingot	Plutonic	Triclinic
Crystallography	Inorganic	Plutonic rock	Trigonal
ct	Inosilicates	Pocket	Trilling
Cube	Insoluble	Point	Trillion
Cubic	Intaglio	Polished	Triplet
Cubic cleavage	Intermediary	Polishing	Trisoctahedral
Cubic octahedron	Intermediary Member	Polychromatic	Trisoctahedron
Cubic system	Intrusion	Polyhedron	True phosphates
Cuboctahedral	Intrusive	Polymerization	Trunk
Culet	Intrusive rock	Polymorph	Tube test
Cut	Ion	Polymorphism	Tuberose
Cyclosilicates	Iridesce	Polymorphous	Tufa
Cymophane effect	Iridescence	Polysynthetic twinning	Tufacious spring
Decomposition	Iridescent	Polysynthetic twins	Tuff
Decrepitation	Irradiate	Polytype	Tumbled
Dehydration	Irradiated	Porcelaneous	Tumbler
Deliquesce	Irradiating	Porous	Tumbling
Deliquescent	Irradiation	Porphry	Tungstates
Dendrite	Isometric	Porphyritic	Tungstates and Molybdates
Dendritic	Isomorph	Porphyry	Tungstens
Density	Isomorphism	Potash	Twin
Deposit	Isomorphous	Potash feldspar	Twinned
Detrital	Isotropic	Potassium feldspar group	Twinned crystal
Detritus	Isotropization	Potspar	Twinning
Devitrification	Isotype	Precious gemstone	Type locality
Devitrify	Isotypism	Precious metal	Ultrabasic
Diabase	Isotypous	Precious stone	Ultramafic
Diagenesis	Ivory	Precipitating	Ultraviolet
Diamagnetic	Jagged	Precipitation	Ultraviolet lamp
Diamagnetism	Japanese law twin	Primary	Ultraviolet light
Diamondlike luster	Japanese twin	Primary mineral	Uneven
Diaphaneity	Jet	Princess	Uneven fracture
Diaphanous	Jewel	Prism	Unstable
Diapir	Jeweler	Prismatic	UV
Dichroic	Jewelry	Prismatic cleavage	UV lamp
Dichroism	K	Prospect	Vanadates
Diffract	K-spar	Prospecting	Variable formula
Diffraction	Karat	Prospector	Variety
Diffused	Karst	Proton	Vein
Diffusion treatment	Kimberlite	Pseudo	Vent
Dike	Kt	Pseudo-octahedral	Venting
Dimorph	Lab	Pseudo-octahedron	Vermeil
Dimorphous	Laboratory	Pseudocube	Verneuil process
Diorite	Labradoresce	Pseudocubic	Vesicle
Dipyramid	Labradorescence	Pseudohexagon	Vitreous
Dipyramidal	Labradorescent	Pseudohexagonal	Vitreous luster
Disilicates	Laccolith	Pseudomorph	Vitriol
Dispersing	Lamellar	Pseudomorphed	Volatilize
Dispersion	Laminated rock	Pseudomorphism	Volcanic
Dodecahedral	Lanthanides	Pt	Volcanic rock
Dodecahedron	Lapidaries	Pure	Volcanism
Dollar	Lapidary	Pyncnometer	Volcano
Dolomite	Lattice	Pyramidal	Vug
Dolostone	Lava	Pyritohedral	Vulcanism
Double refraction	Lenticular	Pyritohedron	Waterworn
Doublet	Light	Pyroelectric	Waxlike luster
Doubly terminated	Light reflection	Pyroelectricity	Waxy
Druse	Light refraction	Pyrometallurgy	Waxy luster
Drusy	Limestone	Pyrosilicates	Weathered
Druzy	Litmus paper	Pyroxene	Weathering
Dry lake	Locality	Pyroxene group	Wheat sheaf
Dry lake deposit	Lode	Quarried	Wheat sheaves
Ductile	Longwave	Quarries	White light
Ductilibility	Loupe	Quarry	Widmanstatten lines
Ductility	Lubricant	Quartz group	Widmanstatten pattern
Dull	Luminesce	Quartzite	Wires
Dull luster	Luminescence	Radial	Wiry
Dump	Luminescent	Radiating	Wolframates
Dusting	Luster	Radiation	X-ray
Earth science	Lustrous	Radical	Xenolith
Earthy	LW	Radioactive	Zeolite
Earthy luster	Macle	Radioactivity	Zeolite group
Eclogite	Macrocrystalline	Rare earth	Zoning
Effervesce	Mafic	Rare earth elements

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