quartz

== English == === Etymology === 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”). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /k(w)ɔːts/ (General American) IPA(key): /k(w)ɔɹts/ Rhymes: -ɔːts, -ɔɹts Homophone: courts (some accents) Homophone: quarts === Noun === quartz (countable and uncountable, plural quartzes) (mineralogy) The most abundant mineral on the earth's surface, of chemical composition silicon dioxide, SiO2. It occurs in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous. Found in every environment. (uncountable, slang) Crystal meth: methamphetamine hydrochloride. ==== Synonyms ==== Thesaurus:quartz ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== Colorado topaz ==== Descendants ==== → Malay: kuarza ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from German Quarz, from a West Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *tvьrdъ (“hard”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kwaʁts/ === Noun === quartz m (invariable) quartz Synonym: cristal de roche ==== Descendants ==== → Catalan: quars === Further reading === “quartz”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012