cinnabar

views updated May 08 2018

cinnabar The commonest mercury mineral, HgS; sp. gr. 8.0–8.2; hardness 2.0–2.5; trigonal; scarlet-red to brownish-red; vermilion streak; adamantine lustre; crystals rhombohedral or thick, tabular plates, but can occur massive or granular; cleavage perfect prismatic {101̄} sedimentary rocks, in fractures in areas of volcanic activity, and around hot springs, associated with pyrite, stibnite, and realgar. It is the only major ore of mercury.

cinnabar

views updated May 23 2018

cin·na·bar / ˈsinəˌbär/ • n. a bright red mineral consisting of mercury sulfide. It is the only important ore of mercury and is sometimes used as a pigment. ∎  the bright red color of this; vermilion: [as adj.] the blood coagulated in cinnabar threads.

cinnabar

views updated May 23 2018

cinnabar vermilion XV; red sulphide of mercury XVI. — L. cinnabaris — Gr. kinnábari.