chatoyant
[ shuh-toi-uhnt ]
adjective
changing in luster or color: chatoyant silk.
Jewelry. reflecting a single streak of light when cut in a cabochon.
noun
Jewelry. a cabochon-cut gemstone having this reflected streak, as a chrysoberyl cat's eye.
Origin of chatoyant
1First recorded in 1790–1800; from French, present participle of chatoyer “to change luster like a cat's eye,” derivative of chat “cat”; cf. cat
Other words from chatoyant
- cha·toy·ance, cha·toy·an·cy, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for chatoyant
chatoyant
/ (ʃəˈtɔɪənt) /
adjective
having changeable lustre; twinkling
(of a gem, esp a cabochon) displaying a band of light reflected off inclusions of other minerals
noun
a gemstone with a changeable lustre, such as a cat's eye
Origin of chatoyant
1C18: from French, from chatoyer to gleam like a cat's eyes, from chat cat 1
Derived forms of chatoyant
- chatoyancy, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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