Nicoline

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A metallic nickel arsenide mineral, also known as niccolite, that occurs as copper-red masses in ore deposits
2. An alternative name for niccolite, a copper-coloured mineral made of nickel and arsenic that is found in certain ore veins
3. A nickel arsenide ore with a reddish metallic luster, mined as a source of nickel and arsenic compounds

Etymology: Nicoline is a name for the nickel arsenide mineral, a variant of niccolite, and its story begins with the miners who first dug it up. Medieval German miners found a reddish ore that looked like copper but yielded none when smelted. They blamed a mischievous mine spirit called Nickel, a goblin much like Old Nick, and named the ore "Kupfernickel," roughly "copper demon." Later chemists discovered that the ore contained a new metal, and that metal took the goblin's name. The mineral name follows the metal. Nicoline and niccolite are built on the Latinized form "niccolum," a New Latin coinage for nickel, with a mineral-name ending added. The first part of the word therefore comes from the goblin, not from any classical source.