# 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.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /k(w)ɔːts/
* (General American) IPA: /k(w)ɔɹts/
* Audio (US):(file)
* 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, SiO$_2$. It occurs in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous. Found in every environment.
** 1883, George Downing Liveing, James Dewar, “On the Ultra-Violet Spectra of the Elements”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, volume 174, Barrison and Sons, part I, page 188:The telescope and collimator have each an object-glass consisting of a single lens of quartz 1½ inch diameter and a focal length of 18½ inches for the sodium yellow light, but not more than 16 inches for the highest rays measured.
** 1892 April, Armiger Barczinsky, “The Golden Snail”, in Sylvanus Urban (pseudonym of Edward Cave), editor, The Gentleman's Magazine, volume 272, page 331:Subsequently, the old Malay brought him the present specimen in a state of torpidity, telling him he had found it in a cavity of the quartz reef.
** 1948, Theodore Roethke, “The Shape of the Fire”, in The Lost Son and Other Poems; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, 1975, →ISBN, page 62:My meat eats me. Who waits at the gate? / Mother of quartz, your words writhe into my ear. / Renew the light, lewd whisper.
* (uncountable, slang) Crystal meth: methamphetamine hydrochloride.

#### Synonyms

* Thesaurus:quartz

#### Derived terms

* alpha quartz
* beta quartz
* clear quartz
* drusy quartz
* fused quartz
* honeycomb quartz
* megaquartz
* microquartz
* milky quartz
* pure quartz
* purple quartz
* quartz arenite
* quartz-arenitic
* quartz arenitic
* quartz-beta
* quartz clock
* quartz crusher
* quartz crystal
* quartz-crystal clock
* quartz-diorite
* quartz glass
* quartz halogen lamp
* quartz heater
* quartziferous
* quartzing
* quartz-iodine lamp
* quartzite
* quartz lamp
* quartz mining
* quartzolite
* quartzose
* quartz reefer
* quartz schist
* quartz-trachyte
* quartz watch
* rainbow quartz
* rose quartz
* shocked quartz
* smokey quartz
* smoky quartz
* snow quartz
* star quartz
* vein quartz

#### Related terms

* Colorado topaz

#### Descendants

* → Malay: kuarza

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### See also

* amethyst
* aventurine
* buhrstone
* cairngorm
* chalcedony
* chrysoprase
* citrine
* coesite
* flint
* greisen
* onyx
* phenacite
* prase
* rock crystal
* rubasse
* stishovite
* topaz

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from German Quarz, from a West Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *tvьrdъ (“hard”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kwaʁts/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

quartz m (plural quartz)
* 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.