Adjacent Words

Chalcedony definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CHALCEDONY, n. A subspecies of quartz, a mineral called also white agate, resembling milk diluted with water, and more or less clouded or opake, with veins, circles and spots. It is used in jewelry.
The varieties of chalcedony are common chalcedony, heliotrope, chrysoprase, plasma, onyx, sard and sardonyx.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a milky or greyish translucent to transparent quartz [syn: chalcedony, calcedony]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -nies) Etymology: Middle English calcedonie, a precious stone, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin chalcedonius, from Greek Chalk?d?n Chalcedon Date: 13th century a translucent variety of quartz of various colors and waxy luster • chalcedonic adjective

Britannica Concise

Very fine-grained variety of the silica mineral quartz. A form of chert, it occurs in a great variety of colors, usually bluish white, gray, yellow, or brown. Other physical properties are those of quartz. For centuries, chalcedony has been the stone most used by gem engravers, and many varieties are still cut and polished as ornamental stones. See also agate, carnelian, onyx.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a type of quartz occurring in several different forms, e.g. onyx, agate, tiger's eye, etc. Derivatives: chalcedonic adj. Etymology: ME f. L c(h)alcedonius f. Gk khalkedon

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Chalcedony Chal*ced"o*ny (k[a^]l*s[e^]d"[-o]*n[y^] or k[a^]l"s[-e]*d[-o]*n[y^]; 277), n.; pl. Chalcedonies (-n[i^]z). [ L. chalcedonius, fr. Gr. CHalkhdw`n Chalcedon, a town in Asia Minor, opposite to Byzantium: cf. calc['e]doine, OE. calcidoine, casidoyne. Cf. Cassidony.] (Min.) A cryptocrystalline, translucent variety of quartz, having usually a whitish color, and a luster nearly like wax. [Written also calcedony.] Note: When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called agate; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called onyx. Chrysoprase is green chalcedony; carnelian, a flesh red, and sard, a brownish red variety.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Mentioned only in Rev. 21:19, as one of the precious stones in the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The name of this stone is derived from Chalcedon, where it is said to have been first discovered. In modern mineralogy this is the name of an agate-like quartz of a bluish colour. Pliny so names the Indian ruby. The mineral intended in Revelation is probably the Hebrew _nophekh_, translated "emerald" (Ex. 28:18; 39:11; Ezek. 27:16; 28:13). It is rendered "anthrax" in the LXX., and "carbunculus" in the Vulgate. (See CARBUNCLE.)

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kal-sed'-o-ni, kal'-se-do-ni.

See STONES, PRECIOUS.