Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An extremely hard mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3, sometimes containing iron, magnesia, or silica, that occurs in gem varieties such as ruby and sapphire and in a common black, brown, or blue form used chiefly in abrasives.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Alumina, or the oxid of the metal aluminium, as found native in a crystalline state.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) The mineral alumina (Al2O3), as found native in a crystalline state. Transparent varieties are used as gemstones, including
sapphire , which is the fine blue variety; theoriental ruby , or red sapphire; theoriental amethyst , or purple sapphire; andadamantine spar , the hair-brown variety. It is the hardest substance found native, next to the diamond.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun mineralogy An
extremely hard mineral , a form ofaluminum oxide with thechemical formula Al 2O 3, that occurs in the form of thegemstones sapphire andruby ; it is used as anabrasive .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun very hard mineral used as an abrasive
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Aluminum oxide, when it occurs in crystals rather than on pans, makes up the abrasive called corundum, and is also the principal material of rubies and sapphires the gem colors come from chromium and titanium impurities.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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Aluminum oxide, when it occurs in crystals rather than on pans, makes up the abrasive called corundum, and is also the principal material of rubies and sapphires the gem colors come from chromium and titanium impurities.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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It should be said first that the only true scientific or synthetic stones on the market are those having the composition and properties of corundum, that is to say, the ruby and the several color varieties of sapphire, as blue, pink, yellow, and white.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade
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The oriental jacinth, or hyacinth, is a brown-red corundum, which is more stable than the ordinary hyacinth, this latter being a form of zircon; it changes colour on exposure to light, which colour is not restored by subsequent retention in darkness.
The Chemistry, Properties and Tests of Precious Stones John Mastin
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The relatively pure crystals are called corundum, while emery is
An Elementary Study of Chemistry William McPherson
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The cutting and polishing of the stones is done, as at home, with metal discs and emery or comminuted corundum, which is said to be found in large quantities in the neighbourhood of Canton.
The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume II Alexander Leslie 1866
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The polishing of stones, whether cabochon or facetted, is accomplished by the use of very finely powdered abrasives such as corundum powder, tripoli, pumice, putty powder, etc.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade
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Herein also is the kind of corundum known as emery, and esteemed for its polishing properties.
How to See the British Museum in Four Visits W. Blanchard Jerrold 1855
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I am harder than a diamond sword sunk in a corundum anvil.
Corporations play hide-and-seek with contact info online 2010
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I am harder than a diamond sword sunk in a corundum anvil.
Corporations play hide-and-seek with contact info online 2010
johnmperry commented on the word corundum
a crystalline form of aluminium oxide and one of the rock-forming minerals. It is naturally clear, but can have different colors when impurities are present.
July 18, 2008