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Fool's gold

 - 3 dictionary results

fool's gold

–noun
iron or copper pyrites, sometimes mistaken for gold.

Origin:
1870–75, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fool's gold  
n.  See pyrite.
py·rite   (pī'rīt')   
n.  A brass-colored mineral, FeS2, occurring widely and used as an iron ore and in producing sulfur dioxide for sulfuric acid. Also called fool's gold, iron pyrites.

[Middle English perides, pirite, from Old French pirite, from Latin pyrītēs, flint; see pyrites.]
py·rit'ic (-rĭt'ĭk), py·rit'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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