spinel
Pronunciation: /spɪˈnɛl/
The English word “spinel” has 3 meanings listed here.
noun
- Any of several hard minerals of cubic symmetry that are mixed oxides of magnesium and aluminium and are used as gemstones of various colours.
- Any crystalline material, not necessarily an oxide, that possesses the same crystal structure as this mineral.
- Spindle; the amount of yarn that fits on a spindle.
Etymology
French spinelle, perhaps from Latin spina (“a thorn, a prickle”), in allusion to its pointed crystals.
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