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spessartine

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spes⋅sart⋅ite

[spes-er-tahyt]
–noun
Mineralogy. a yellow or red manganese-aluminum garnet, used as a semiprecious gem.
Also called spes⋅sart⋅ine [spes-er-teen, -tin] .


Origin:
1885–90; named after Spessart, a district in Bavaria, where it is found; see -ite 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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spes·sar·tite   (spěs'ər-tīt')   
n.  A red to brownish-red mineral of the garnet group, Mn3Al2(SiO4)3.

[French, after Spessart, a hilly area of west-central Germany.]
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

spessartine

manganese aluminum garnet that is a semiprecious gem when clear. Found combined with almandine, it ranges in colour from pale orange yellow, when nearly pure, to orange or deep red, when appreciable proportions of almandine are present. It is similar in colour to grossular, but, unlike that species, it is commonly transparent. Spessartine is rare and, therefore, seldom used in jewelry. It is ordinarily found in granite, felsic lavas, pegmatite veins, and metamorphic rocks, as in central India, Madagascar, and Silver Cliff, Colo., U.S. For details of chemistry and occurrence, see garnet.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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