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idocrase

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i⋅do⋅crase

[ahy-duh-kreys, id-uh-]
–noun Mineralogy.
vesuvianite.

Origin:
1795–1805; < F < Gk eîdo(s) form + krâsis mixture
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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i·do·crase   (ī'də-krās', -krāz', ĭd'ə-)   
n.  See vesuvianite.

[French : Greek eidos, form; see weid- in Indo-European roots + krāsis, mixture; see idiosyncrasy.]
ve·su·vi·an·ite   (vĭ-sōō'vē-ə-nīt')   
n.  A green, brown, yellow, or blue metamorphic silicate mineral, Ca10Mg2Al4(SiO4)5(Si2O7)2(OH)4. Also called idocrase.

[First found in old lava on Mount Vesuvius.]
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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Encyclopedia

idocrase

common silicate mineral that occurs in crystalline limestones near their contacts with igneous rocks, and in beds of marble and calcsilicate granulite that are associated with gneiss and mica schist. Fine glassy crystals coloured yellow, green, or brown have been found in the Ala Valley in the Piedmont, and on Mte. Somma, Italy; the Vilyuy River, Siberia; Christiansand, Nor.; Litchfield, Quebec; and Auburn, Maine, Amity, N.Y., and Franklin, N.J. For chemical formula and detailed physical properties, see silicate mineral (table)

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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