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Added 9 October 2026

quartz

/k(w)ɔːts/ noun

In Latin: quartzum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about quartz at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Colorless glass made of almost pure silica.
A hard glossy mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form; present in most rocks (especially sandstone and granite); yellow sand is quartz with iron oxide impurities.

Origin

From German Quarz, from Middle High German (Central East German) quarz, twarc, from a West Slavic language [compare Polish twardy (“hard”), Czech tvrdý (“hard”)], from Proto-Slavic *tvьrdъ ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twerH- (“to enclose, grab”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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