quartz

[kwawrts]
noun
one of the commonest minerals, silicon dioxide, SiO 2 , having many varieties that differ in color, luster, etc., and occurring either in masses (as agate, bloodstone, chalcedony, jasper, etc.) or in crystals (as rock crystal, amethyst, citrine, etc.): the chief constituent of sand and sandstone, and an important constituent of many other rocks. It is piezoelectric and used to control the frequencies of radio transmitters.

Origin:
1750–60; < German Quarz

quartz·ose [kwawrt-sohs] , quartz·ous [kwawrt-suhs] , adjective

quarts, quartz.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Quartz is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
quartz (kwɔːts) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a colourless mineral often tinted by impurities, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. It is used in the manufacture of glass, abrasives, and cement, and also as a gemstone; the violet-purple variety is amethyst, the brown variety is cairngorm, the yellow variety is citrine, and the pink variety is rose quartz. Composition: silicon dioxide. Formula: SiO2. Crystal structure: hexagonal
2.  short for quartz glass
 
[C18: from German Quarz, of Slavic origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

quartz
1756, from Ger. Quarz "rock crystal," from M.H.G. twarc, probably from a W.Slavic source (cf. Czech tvrdy, Polish twardy "quartz"), from O.C.S. tvrudu "hard."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

quartz (kwôrts)
n.
A very hard crystalline form of silicon dioxide used in chemical apparatus and in optical and electric instruments.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
quartz   (kwôrts)  Pronunciation Key 
A hard, transparent trigonal mineral that, after feldspar, is the most common mineral on the surface of the Earth. It occurs as a component of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks as well as in a variety of other forms such as rock crystal, flint, and agate. Some crystalline forms, such as amethyst, are considered gemstones. Chemical formula: SiO2.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Radios normally use a quartz crystal or some other oscillator to serve as a
  reference when adjusting the radio frequency.
Two wizards go and remove the stone, which appears to be quartz, and then the
  novice is resuscitated.
The quartz crystals, which were being mined, were found at various locations
  within the gray sandstone and brown clay layers.
The researchers also discovered quartz flakes packed in some of the cave's
  crevices.
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