zircon

Etymology

From German Zirkon, possibly via French zircon, from Arabic زَرْقُون‎ (zarqūn, “cinnabar, bright red”), from Persian زرگون‎ (zargun) / زریون‎ (zaryun), from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭫𐭢𐭥𐭭‎ (zargōn).

Noun

zircon (countable and uncountable, plural zircons)

1. (uncountable) A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or grey colour and consisting of silica and zirconia.
   • 2012 March 1, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 2, page 128:

     Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)

2. (countable) A crystal of zircon, sometimes used as a false gemstone.

See also

• jacinth
• jargon, jargoon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ziʁ.kɔ̃/

Noun

zircon m (plural zircons)

1. zircon

Further reading

• “zircon” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Etymology

Borrowed from French zircon.

Noun

zircon n (uncountable)

1. zircon