Quartz Meaning
/k(w)ɔːts/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe most abundant mineral on the earth's surface, of chemical composition silicon dioxide, SiO₂. It occurs in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous. Found in every environment.
nounCrystal meth: methamphetamine hydrochloride.
Sentence Examples
Rare gems include aquamarine, amethyst, emerald, quartz and ruby.
Tom believes that these quartz crystals have healing powers.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To make the precision watch's transparent face, they used a hard mineral known as ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The geologist identified ____ crystals in the rock sample, recognizing their characteristic hexagonal shape.
Word Origin & History
From German Quarz, from Middle High German (Central East German) quarz, twarc, from a West Slavic language [compare Polish twardy (“hard”), Czech tvrdý (“hard”)], from Proto-Slavic *tvьrdъ ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twerH- (“to enclose, grab”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The telescope and collimator have each an object-glass consisting of a single lens of quartz 1½ inch diameter and a focal length of 18½ inches for the sodium yellow light, but not more than 16 inches for the highest rays measured."
— 1883, George Downing Liveing, James Dewar, “On the Ultra-Violet Spectra of the Elements”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, volume 174, Barrison and Sons, part I, page 188:
"Subsequently, the old Malay brought him the present specimen in a state of torpidity, telling him he had found it in a cavity of the quartz reef."
— 1892 April 26, Armiger Barczinsky, “The Golden Snail”, in Sylvanus Urban (pseudonym of Edward Cave), editor, The Gentleman's Magazine, volume 272, page 331:
"My meat eats me. Who waits at the gate? / Mother of quartz, your words writhe into my ear. / Renew the light, lewd whisper."
— 1948, Theodore Roethke, “The Shape of the Fire”, in The Lost Son and Other Poems, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, →OCLC; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, London: Faber and Faber […], 1968, →OCLC, page 62:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
To make the precision watch's transparent face, they used a hard mineral known as ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The geologist identified ____ crystals in the rock sample, recognizing their characteristic hexagonal shape.