Orthopyroxenes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of high-temperature silicate minerals that typically crystallize in a monoclinic system, comprising predominantly iron and magnesium silicates
2. Silicate minerals forming in the earth's crust, characterized by a structure which includes single chains of tetrahedra and often occurring in metamorphic rocks
3. Minerals commonly found in igneous and metamorphic environments, characterized by their monoclinic crystal system and significant role in the rock cycle

Etymology: "Orthopyroxene" is a mineral-group name built from two parts: "ortho-", from Ancient Greek "orthós" meaning "straight" or "right", and "pyroxene", a term for a family of silicate minerals. The pyroxene name itself comes from Greek roots meaning roughly "fire" and "stranger", a nod to how these minerals were once seen in volcanic rocks, though the ortho- prefix is the piece that distinguishes this subgroup. In orthopyroxenes, the crystal structure is orthorhombic rather than monoclinic, which is why the prefix was chosen. The "ortho" label marks these minerals as the members of the pyroxene family whose crystals have that straight, right-angled arrangement, set apart from the monoclinic clinopyroxenes that share the same general chemistry. "Orthopyroxenes" is simply the plural form, used when referring to the group or to several distinct minerals within it, such as enstatite and hypersthene.

Synonyms: enstatite, ferrosilite