crystal
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Crystal
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
- crystall (obsolete)
[edit] Etymology
From Old English cristal (“clear ice/mineral”), from Old French cristal, from Latin crystallum (“crystal, ice”), from Ancient Greek κρύσταλλος (krustallos, “ice”), from κρύος (kruos, “frost”), from the Proto-Indo-European *krus-, *kru- (“hard, hard outer surface, crust”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
crystal (countable and uncountable; plural crystals)
- (countable) A solid composed of an array of atoms or molecules possessing long-range order and arranged in a pattern which is periodic in three dimensions.
- (countable) A piece of glimmering, shining mineral resembling ice or glass.
- (uncountable) A fine type of glassware, or the material used to make it.
- (uncountable, slang) crystal meth: methamphetamine hydrochloride.
[edit] Synonyms
- (array of atoms): grain
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Derived terms
- crystalliferous
- crystalline
- crystallite
- crystallization, crystallisation
- crystallize, crystallise
- crystallographer
- crystalloid
- quasicrystal
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
array of atoms
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mineral
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glassware
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(used attributively)
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Translations to be checked
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[edit] References
- “crystal” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
