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quartz

UK/k(w)ɔːts/US/k(w)ɔɹts/
nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,439 of 15,258leans written

Quartz is a hard glassy mineral found in most rocks. A vein of quartz, quartz crystal, a quartz watch.

It is the commonest mineral in the Earth's crust after feldspar, and beach sand is mostly grains of it. A quartz watch works because a shaped crystal vibrates at an exact frequency when a voltage is applied, which is why it keeps far better time than clockwork.

Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of quartz

  1. 1nounquartzA hard glassy mineral found in most rocks.B2+

    “The hikers found a white lump of quartz glittering among the grey rocks.”

quartz is a mineral.

Where it comes from

German Quarz comes from a West Slavic word, probably related to a root meaning hard.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *twerH- — to enclose, grab

  2. Proto-Slavic

    *tvьrdъ

  3. German

    Quarz

  4. English, today

    quartz

From German Quarz, from Middle High German - (Central East German) quarz, twarc, from a zlw - language [compare Polish twardy (“hard”), Czech tvrdý (“hard”)], from Proto-Slavic tvьrdъ ultimately from Proto-Indo-European twerH- (“to enclose, grab”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Materials & Substances

Practise this word

quartz in the wild

  • There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are classified as gemstones.

    Quartz

  • Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings, especially in Europe and Asia.

    Quartz

  • Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO2, and is commonly found in nature as quartz.

    Silicon dioxide

  • Examples include fused quartz, fumed silica, opal, and aerogels.

    Silicon dioxide

  • In the 1960s the electronic quartz watch was invented, powered by a battery and keeping time with a vibrating quartz crystal.

    Watch

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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.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Related words

the Quarz family

quartz

quartz — used about once every 6,207 pages · #10,439 · point at the bar for the others