almandine

almandine
/al"meuhn deen', -duyn', -din/, n.
a mineral, red iron aluminum garnet.
[1670-80; < F, MF < ML alamandina, alabandina a precious stone, prob. a kind of garnet, equiv. to Alaband(a) a town in Asia Minor + -ina, fem. of -inus -INE1; cf. ME alabaundaryne, alemaundine; cf. ALABANDITE]

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 either of two semiprecious gemstones: a violet-coloured variety of ruby spinel (q.v.) or iron aluminum garnet, which is most abundant of the garnets. Specimens of the garnet, frequently crystals, contain up to 25 percent grossular or andradite and are commonly brownish red; gem-quality stone is deep red and slightly purple. Almandine, the so-called precious garnet, is most often faceted for rings. Cabochon-cut (cabochon cut) (rounded, convex polished surface), deep red almandine is called carbuncle; (carbuncle) its base is often hollowed to lighten its colour. When rutile needles are included in the almandine, the cabochons often show a four-rayed asterism (star-shaped figure).

      Almandine is usually found mixed with both pyrope and spessartine. It occurs in metamorphic rocks, where its presence indicates the grade of metamorphism. It also occurs in granites and tonalites. For detailed chemistry and occurrence, see garnet.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Almandine — Al man*dine, n. [LL. almandina, alamandina, for L. alabandina a precious stone, named after Alabanda, a town in Caria, where it was first and chiefly found: cf. F. almandine.] (Min.) The common red variety of garnet. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • almandine — ALMANDINE. sub. fémin. Espèce de rubis …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • almandine — [al′məndīt΄al′mən dēn΄, al′məndin΄] n. [ML alamandina < LL Alabandina (gemma), stone from Alabanda, city in the interior of CARIA] a purplish red variety of garnet, Fe3Al2 (SiO4) 3, used as an inexpensive gem and an abrasive: sometimes called… …   English World dictionary

  • Almandine — Infobox mineral name = Almandine category = boxwidth = boxbgcolor = imagesize = caption = formula = molweight = color = reddish orange to red, slightly purplish red to reddish purple and usually dark in tone habit = system = twinning = cleavage …   Wikipedia

  • almandine — almandin [ almɑ̃dɛ̃ ] n. m. , almandine [ almɑ̃din ] n. f. • 1898, XVIIe; var. de alabandite ♦ Grenat aluminoferreux. ⇒ALMA(N)DIN, (ALMADIN, ALMANDIN) subst. masc., ALMA(N)DINE, (ALMADINE, ALMANDINE)subst. fém. MINÉR., JOAILL …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • almandine — almandinas statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Mineralas. formulė Fe₃Al₂[SiO₄]₃ atitikmenys: angl. almandine rus. альмандин …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • almandine — noun Etymology: Middle English alemaundine, from Anglo French alamandine, alteration of Old French alabandine, from Medieval Latin alabandina, from Alabanda, ancient city in Asia Minor Date: 15th century almandite …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • almandine — noun A deep red color, inclining to purple, mineral belonging to the garnet group with chemical formula FeAl(SiO) …   Wiktionary

  • almandine — n. red colored mineral, almandite …   English contemporary dictionary

  • almandine — [ alməndi:n, dʌɪn] noun a kind of garnet with a violet tint. Origin ME: from obs. Fr., alt. of alabandine, from med. L. alabandina (gemma), jewel from Alabanda , an ancient city in Asia Minor where these stones were cut …   English new terms dictionary

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