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mineral

[min-er-uh

l, min-ruh

noun

any of a class of substances occurring in nature, usually comprising inorganic substances, as quartz or feldspar, of definite chemical composition and usually of definite crystal structure, but sometimes also including rocks formed by these substances as well as certain natural products of organic origin, as asphalt or coal.

a substance obtained by mining, as ore.

(loosely) any substance that is neither animal nor vegetable.

minerals, British. mineral water.

Nutrition. any of the inorganic elements, as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, or sodium, that are essential to the functioning of the human body and are obtained from foods.

adjective

of the nature of a mineral; pertaining to a mineral or minerals.

containing or impregnated with a mineral or minerals.

neither animal nor vegetable; inorganic: mineral matter.

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Mineral is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

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Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French, Old French mineral < Medieval Latin minerāle (noun), minerālis (adj.), equivalent to miner(a) mine, ore (< Old French miniere < Vulgar Latin *mināria; min- (see mine²) + Latin -āria -ary) + -āle, -ālis -al¹

Related forms

non·min·er·al, noun, adjective

sem·i·min·er·al, adjective

Example Sentences

Mineral makeup's advocates laud its back-to-earth-benefits.

Mineral riches provide governments with cash but do not create many jobs.

The mineral could provide a crucial oxygen source for future manned lunar missions.

EXPAND

Mineral makeup's advocates laud its back-to-earth-benefits.

Mineral riches provide governments with cash but do not create many jobs.

The mineral could provide a crucial oxygen source for future manned lunar missions.

Mantle tissue that is located under and in contact with the shell secretes proteins and mineral extracellularly to form the shell.

See a simulated underground mining tunnel, rock and mineral displays.

Leaf damage can result from excess mineral salts in the soil or salts in irrigation water.

And in the past year, he has almost single-handedly ignited the current rush to mine mineral deposits on the ocean floor.

Balanced and lively, with earthy mineral and floral aromas and flavors.

The early environmental movement worried that the mineral resources on which modern industry depends would run out.

Rubies, valued as precious gems, are the mineral corundum in its red form.

It is the ongoing act of describing that differentiates our organic nature from that of the simply mineral.

Mineral pools on the lake are purported to have healing properties because of their high sulphur content.

Cover bare earth with mineral mulch to further tie the garden to its natural surroundings.

The body makes it by growing tiny mineral crystals in a highly regular crystal lattice.

Mineral oil is a liquid oil produced from petroleum.

The overall impression is one of geological majesty and extraordinary mineral wealth.

Mineral deposits in caves can create amazing shapes, such as these chocolaty-looking cave pearls.

Their rare-earth moniker comes from the fact they rarely show up in concentrated form in a specific mineral or vein.

Earthy aromas followed by delicate strawberry and mineral flavors.

If scientists can spot the transition from one mineral to another, they can roughly infer temperature at that depth.

Mineral spirits will dissolve only paint that is still fresh.

And it is expecting a giddy few decades of spectacular growth fuelled by the exploitation of its mineral riches.

Turquoise is a mineral created in a natural process that is still not completely understood.

Switch from mineral salt to sea salt and sprinkle some garlic powder over your steak the next time.

Gardenia and mineral aromas are followed by white peaches and apricots, with characteristic orange zest on the finish.

Opportunity's instrument also detected jarosite, an iron sulfate mineral.

The sandcastle worm, as the beast is known, lives in a mineral shell.

When miners find rock containing mineral ore, they first extract the rock from the earth.

The dialogue ignores the reality of mineral resource development.

Iodine, a mineral essential for proper thyroid functioning and mental development, may be added too.

He has thousands of photos of mineral grains magnified to the size of golf balls.

Foreign mining firms have started to develop huge untapped mineral reserves.

The country is enjoying strong economic growth because of its large oil, gas, and mineral reserves.

Mining phosphorus for fertilizer is consuming the mineral faster than geologic cycles can replenish it.

Chile's victory enlarged the country's land area by a third and gained it rich mineral deposits.

They provide valuable mineral deposits, fertile soils, and geothermal energy.

If that were true then the mineral composition would also have the same isotope distribution.

All this shows that mineral resources need not always be a curse.

They break down rock, construct mineral deposits and create by-products ranging from electrical currents to methane gas.

Mineral sands, such as zircon, sit under a tarpaulin.

Yet the dream of mining the mineral wealth of the deep has never gone away.

Until recently, a litre of petrol cost less than a bottle of mineral water.

There had been, unfortunately, too tardy a recognition of what the mineral wealth of the different nations.

It's not as economical, perhaps, but it beats fighting so hard to keep the humidifier clear of mineral build-ups.

They break down rock, construct mineral deposits and create by-products ranging from electrical currents to methane.

Where miners used to dig, an endangered bat now flourishes, highlighting a new use for abandoned mineral sites.

I'll have to take vitamin and mineral supplements daily for the rest of my life.

Several pesticides of mineral origin control fungal diseases on plants.

Some say melting ice will expose land for oil drilling, mineral exploration and food production.

Mineral oil overdose occurs when someone accidentally or intentionally takes more than the normal or recommended.

The country has vast but largely untapped mineral deposits.

Studying the bones in the lab, the team treated part of the femur with a solution designed to dissolve its mineral components.

They also contain tiny grains of monazite, a rare earth mineral that lends itself to radioactive.

She used nano-sized particles of mineral oxides to create waterproof coatings for paper at half the cost of synthetic paper.

Discoveries of oil or other mineral deposits are hailed as offering a way out of poverty.

Now a scientist says chemical comings and goings between sheets of the mineral mica may have.

As the plaster dried, it reacted with the mineral pigments, fixing the colors.

But electron microscope examination showed that he'd merely found iron-bearing mineral structures known as framboids.

Discovering, and then splashing in, mineral baths had been a favorite.

Overseas capital and expertise, it contends, provide critical help in harvesting its mineral wealth.

Afghanistan's metal and mineral deposits-far from newfound-have been known and fantasized about for millennia.

As moon-spawned tides wash over rocks they deposit mineral specks, layer upon layer.

Its mineral crystal is recessed to dodge blows, and the screw-down crown is offset to four o'clock so it won't dent your wrist.

Complaining that their states are being exploited for their rich mineral resources but being ignored.

Their hues vary as the mineral content of the water changes.

Iron and sulfur in the mineral are transformed into iron-laden sulfuric acid.

Selenium is considered an essential trace mineral for both humans and animals, but it becomes toxic at high doses.

Mineral spirits will only dissolve paint that is still fresh.

Sulfur and mineral salts from upwelling springs create vivid colors.

Beneath the surface they found small particles of aragonite, a calcium carbonate mineral.

Naptha is a petroleum solvent similar to mineral spirits but with a greater volatility.

Africa contains a disproportionate share of the world's mineral wealth at a time when mineral prices are soaring.

But there is mineral interest in the area, which may present a future threat.

The moon has mineral resources and microgravity fabrication potential.

Zeolite is a natural mineral that attracts, or absorbs, water vapor.

Beals ordered mineral water and a vegetarian burrito.

Each sample gives a different estimate of the amount of mineral underground.

Older women who drink cola have significantly decreased mineral bone density, according to a new study.

Carrying a bottle of mineral water on a hike through the city would be a practical if dorky idea.

But it's unlikely anyone has ever called these two naturally carbonated mineral waters by that name.

The sandcastle worm, as the creature is known, lives in a mineral shell.

People could study the cosmic ray tracks left when a cosmic ray hits a mineral grain.

Watt has stated he is in favor of mineral exploration in wilderness areas.

His rather slow-witted replacement maintains the fiction that the clans respect the government's ownership of mineral resources.

It included two little blocks of the semi-transparent mineral calcite to control and measure the photons' polarizations.

Didymium oxide is a rare earth mineral used in delicate electronics.

Congo is also remote, and its politics have also been corrupted by mineral wealth.

Oh, and a handful of mineral lakes left over from the last ice age.

Their flavor flirts at the edges of animal, vegetable and mineral without making a firm commitment to any of them.

Volcanoes provide valuable mineral deposits, fertile soils, and geothermal energy.

The mineral extraction tax was lowered and the export tariffs recalculated to the benefit of companies.

And anyone cutting out entire food groups is likely to suffer vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Lighter materials, such as the mineral silica, rose to the surface.

Mentone water is so mineral laden, pipes clog and lawns curl up and die.

Some of nature's intricate patterns are on display in this magnified view of the mineral azurite.

But the technique reveals only mineral abundance-identifying the exact types of rocks present will require further research.

Iron is a mineral found in many over-the-counter supplements.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

mineralogical.

mineralogy.

Link To mineral

Collins

World English Dictionary

mineral (ˈmɪnərəl, ˈmɪnrəl)

—n
1.	any of a class of naturally occurring solid inorganic substances with a characteristic crystalline form and a homogeneous chemical composition
2.	any inorganic matter
3.	any substance obtained by mining, esp a metal ore
4.	(Brit) (often plural) short for mineral water
5.	(Brit) Usual US word: soda a soft drink containing carbonated water and flavourings

—*adj*
6.	of, relating to, containing, or resembling minerals

[C15: from Medieval Latin minerāle (n), from minerālis (adj); related to minera mine, ore, of uncertain origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

mineral

late 14c., "substance obtained by mining," from M.L. minerale "something mined," from neut. of mineralis "pertaining to mines," from minera "mine." Meaning "material substance that is neither animal nor vegetable" is first recorded c.1600. Modern scientific sense is from 1813. Mineral water is from 1560s,

EXPAND

originally water found in nature with some mineral substance dissolved in it.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

mineral min·er·al (mĭn'ər-əl)
n.

A naturally occurring, homogeneous inorganic solid substance having a definite chemical composition and characteristic crystalline structure, color, and hardness.
An inorganic element, such as calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, or zinc, that is essential to the nutrition of humans, animals, and plants.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

mineral

(mĭn'ər-əl) Pronunciation Key

A naturally occurring, solid, inorganic element or compound having a uniform composition and a regularly repeating internal structure. Minerals typically have a characteristic hardness and color, or range of colors, by which they can be recognized. Rocks are made up of minerals.
A natural substance of commercial value, such as iron ore, coal, or petroleum, that is obtained by mining, quarrying, or drilling.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

mineral definition

In geology, a naturally occurring inorganic substance (see inorganic molecules) with a definite chemical composition and a regular internal structure.

Note: Most minerals are crystals, like salt and diamonds.

Note: Rocks are aggregates of minerals.

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mineral

min·er·al

mineral.

mineral definition