Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A usually black or banded, hard volcanic glass that displays shiny, curved surfaces when fractured and is formed by rapid cooling of lava.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A volcanic rock, in a vitreous condition, and closely resembling ordinary bottle-glass in appearance and texture.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) A kind of glass produced by volcanoes. It is usually of a black color, and opaque, except in thin splinters.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun mineralogy a type of black
glass produced byvolcanos - adjective poetic
black
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin pieces
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Glass in the form of a volcanic residue such as obsidian is found in nature.
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Although most obsidian is black, a variety of colors can be found in the vast deposits of Jalisco, Mexico.
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Although most obsidian is black, a variety of colors can be found in the vast deposits of Jalisco.
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In this area of Jalisco, the typical country-workshop approach to shaping obsidian is dangerous.
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Although most obsidian is black, a variety of colors can be found in the vast deposits of Jalisco, Mexico.
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Although most obsidian is black, a variety of colors can be found in the vast deposits of Jalisco, Mexico.
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Esparza explained to us that the colors in obsidian come from traces of different minerals embedded in it.
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Esparza explained to us that the colors in obsidian come from traces of different minerals embedded in it.
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I confess that I, too, had very little interest in obsidian until the day I walked into Don Eleno's obsidian workshop in the sleepy village of Navajas, located 30 kilometers southwest of Guadalajara.
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I confess that I, too, had very little interest in obsidian until the day I walked into Don Eleno's obsidian workshop in the sleepy village of Navajas, located 30 kilometers southwest of Guadalajara.
brtom commented on the word obsidian
the obsidian gleam of crow
suzanne, suzzanagig jig
December 29, 2006
fbharjo commented on the word obsidian
more a liquid than a solid:will last only for about 25 million years
August 11, 2008
plethora commented on the word obsidian
Often used to describe the colour of eyes.
Or perhaps that's just in the fanfic I read.
I'm sure I've read it somewhere else, though.
August 11, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word obsidian
I love this word, but now every time I see it I think of Firesign Theatre. "I lifted the heavy obsidian doorknocker... Hey in there! Open up! Your doorknocker fell off!"
August 11, 2008
reesetee commented on the word obsidian
Heehee!
August 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word obsidian
Seems ugly to me - obscene, sinister, morbid, reptilian thing.
August 12, 2008