mineralogy

noun

min·​er·​al·​o·​gy ˌmi-nə-ˈrä-lə-jē How to pronounce mineralogy (audio) -ˈra- How to pronounce mineralogy (audio)
1
: a science dealing with minerals, their crystallography, properties, classification, and the ways of distinguishing them
2
: the mineralogical characteristics of an area, a rock, or a rock formation
mineralogical adjective
or less commonly mineralogic
mineralogically adverb

Examples of mineralogy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In the early years, mineralogy was a scientific field dominated by men. David Bressan, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024 Yeah, the color comes from a lot of the mineralogy, and those are much more common. Abc News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2024 Curator at Music and Museums; Museum of Evolution; Palaeontology and mineralogy. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2024 With panoramic cameras, a microscopic imager, a rock abrasion tool, and three different spectrometers, the rovers made many discoveries about the geology and mineralogy of Mars. IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2010 See all Example Sentences for mineralogy 

Word History

Etymology

probably from New Latin *mineralogia, irregular from Medieval Latin minerale + Latin -logia -logy

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mineralogy was in 1661

Dictionary Entries Near mineralogy

Cite this Entry

“Mineralogy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mineralogy. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

mineralogy

noun
min·​er·​al·​o·​gy ˌmin-ə-ˈräl-ə-jē How to pronounce mineralogy (audio) -ˈral- How to pronounce mineralogy (audio)
: a science dealing with the characteristics and classification of minerals
mineralogical adjective
mineralogically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on mineralogy

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