Vesuvianite

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. a calcium aluminum silicate mineral that typically forms in metamorphic rocks and displays various colors including green, brown, and yellow
2. an orthorhombic silicate mineral composed of calcium, aluminum, and silicon that commonly occurs in contact metamorphic deposits and skarn formations
3. a tetragonal or orthorhombic mineral of the sorosilicate group containing calcium and aluminum that appears in metamorphosed limestone and exhibits variable coloration from green to brown to yellow

Etymology: Vesuvianite takes its name from Mount Vesuvius, the volcano near Naples, where the mineral was found in the lava and ejected rocks of the region. The first part, "Vesuvian," is simply the adjective for that volcano, and the ending "-ite" is the standard suffix chemists and mineralogists attach to names of minerals and rocks. The suffix has a long ancestry. It goes back through Latin "-ītes" to Ancient Greek "-ītēs," a formation meaning something connected with or belonging to a particular thing, and it reached English through French "-ite." Mineralogists adopted it widely to name stones after places, people or properties, so vesuvianite follows the same pattern as many other mineral names. The mineral is a calcium aluminum silicate, and it is also known by older names, such as idocrase, which reflects a different naming tradition.