Variscite

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A vibrant green or blue gemstone known for its rarity, this hydrous phosphate of aluminum belongs to the mineral group of phosphates
2. A scarce mineral displaying bright green or blue shades, composed of hydrated aluminum phosphate, often cut into ornamental stones
3. A distinctive phosphate mineral with a vivid green to turquoise color, valued mainly as a decorative gem due to its rarity

Etymology: Variscite takes its name from a place, though not one most readers would recognise. The mineral was named after Variscia, the old Latin name for the Vogtland, a region straddling eastern Germany and the Czech border. The stone was found there, and its name carries the regional label into the mineral world. The ending is the standard mineralogical one. "-ite" comes from Greek "lithos", meaning stone, and has been attached to mineral names for centuries to mark a substance as a mineral rather than a plant or animal product. So the word combines a regional place-name with the suffix used for nearly every mineral, pairing a geographic label with a general term for stone.