ob·sid·i·an ( b-s d  - n)n. A usually black or banded, hard volcanic glass that displays shiny, curved surfaces when fractured and is formed by rapid cooling of lava. [Latin obsidi  nus, misreading of obsinus (lapis), Obsian (stone), obsidian, after Obsius, a Roman who supposedly discovered it or a similar mineral.] |
obsidian [ɒbˈsɪdɪən]
n
(Earth Sciences / Geological Science) a dark volcanic glass formed by very rapid solidification of lava Also called Iceland agate
[from Latin obsidiānus, erroneous transcription of obsiānus (lapis) (stone of) Obsius, the name (in Pliny) of the discoverer of a stone resembling obsidian]
| obsidian (b-sd-n) A shiny, usually black, volcanic glass. Obsidian forms above ground from lava that is similar in composition to the magma from which granite forms underground, but cools so quickly that minerals do not have a chance to form within it. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  obsidian - acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin piecesvolcanic glass - a kind of natural glass produced when molten lava cools very rapidly |
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