malachite

UK/ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/US/ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,480 of 15,258leans written

Malachite is a banded green stone used for ornament. Polished malachite, a malachite box, bands of malachite.

The green comes from copper, and it forms where copper ore has weathered, which is why prospectors treat it as a sign. It is soft and slightly toxic in dust, so it is polished rather than carved dry.

Definitions of malachite

1nounmalachiteA banded green stone used for ornament.C2
“The palace room had columns covered in green malachite from the Ural Mountains.”

malachite is a stone.

Where it comes from

Greek malache means the mallow plant, from the likeness of the colour to its leaves.

Ancient Greek
μαλάχη — [leaf of the ... ] mallow plant
Latin
molochītis
Middle French
malachite
English, today
malachite

From Middle French malachite, from Latin molochītis, from Ancient Greek μαλάχη (“[leaf of the... ] mallow plant”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Jewellery & Watches

Practise this word

malachite in the wild

Both malachite and azurite can be found in the verdigris patina that is found on weathered brass, bronze, and copper.
Basic copper carbonate
The malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) is a river kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara.
Malachite kingfisher
Despite its name the dye is not prepared from the mineral malachite; the name just comes from the similarity of color.
Malachite green
Siproeta stelenes (malachite) is a Neotropical brush-footed butterfly (family Nymphalidae).
Siproeta stelenes
The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the upperside and light brown and olive green on the underside.
Siproeta stelenes

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

← Vocabulary