pyroxene Hear it!

pyroxene definition

py·rox·ene (pī räk′sēn′)

noun

any of a group of monoclinic or orthorhombic silicate minerals usually containing iron or magnesium but not the hydroxyl radical, and commonly found in igneous rocks

Etymology: Fr pyroxène < Gr pyr, fire + xenos, stranger: from its being foreign to igneous rocks

Related Forms:

  • pyroxenic py′·rox·en′ic (-sen′ik) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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