quartz

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quartz / kwôrts/ • n. a hard white or colorless mineral consisting of silicon dioxide, found widely in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is often colored by impurities (as in amethyst, citrine, and cairngorm).ORIGIN: mid 18th cent.: from German Quarz, from Polish dialect kwardy, corresponding to standard Polish twardy ‘hard.’

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