obsidian
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ob·sid·i·an
(ŏb-sĭd′ē-ən)n.
A usually black or banded, hard volcanic glass that displays shiny, curved surfaces when fractured and is formed by rapid cooling of lava.
[Latin obsidiānus, misreading of obsiānus (lapis), Obsian (stone), obsidian, after Obsius, a Roman who supposedly discovered it or a similar mineral.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
obsidian
(ɒbˈsɪdɪən)n
(Geological Science) a dark volcanic glass formed by very rapid solidification of lava. Also called: Iceland agate
[C17: from Latin obsidiānus, erroneous transcription of obsiānus (lapis) (stone of) Obsius, the name (in Pliny) of the discoverer of a stone resembling obsidian]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ob•sid•i•an
(əbˈsɪd i ən)n.
a volcanic glass similar in composition to granite, usu. dark but transparent in thin pieces, and having a good conchoidal fracture.
[1790–1800; < Latin Obsidiānus, printer's error for Obsiānus pertaining to Obsius, the discoverer (according to Pliny) of a similar mineral in Ethiopia; compare Middle English obsianus < Latin; see -an1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ob·sid·i·an
(ŏb-sĭd′ē-ən) A shiny, usually black, volcanic glass. Obsidian forms from lava that cools so quickly that minerals do not have a chance to form within it.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
obsidian
A glassy volcanic rock.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
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| Noun | 1. |  obsidian - acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin piecesvolcanic glass - a kind of natural glass produced when molten lava cools very rapidly |
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Translations
laavakiviobsidiaani
opsidijan
hrafntinna
黒曜石
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