Clinochlores

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A green monoclinic mineral of the chlorite group, a hydrated silicate containing magnesium, iron and aluminium, found in metamorphic rocks
2. A magnesium aluminium silicate belonging to the chlorite family, typically green in colour and formed in metamorphosed rocks such as schists
3. A hydrous layered silicate mineral from the chlorite group, rich in magnesium and aluminium, occurring in low-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks

Etymology: Clinochlores is simply the plural of clinochlore, a mineral name, so the history belongs to that singular form. The word is a compound built from two Greek elements. The first, "klino", comes from Ancient Greek "klinein", meaning "to lean" or "to slope", and it appears in English in technical terms about inclination, such as the crystallographic term "clinometer" for an instrument that measures slope. The second element is "khlōrós", meaning "green", the same root that gives English "chlorine" and "chlorophyll". Put together, the name refers to a green mineral with an inclined crystal structure. Mineralogists coined many such names from classical roots when describing newly studied minerals, so the word reflects the modern scientific vocabulary of rock description rather than any ancient usage. Its plural form simply names more than one specimen or variety of the mineral.