Cyanite
/ˈsaɪənaɪt/noun
A usually blue aluminum silicate mineral, also known as kyanite, formed chiefly under high pressure.
Did you know?Cyanite changes hardness depending on the direction you test it, which explains the mineralogical name disthene—“two strengths”—given to it in the eighteenth century.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
κύανος (kyanos)
“Dark blue substance or blue pigment, possibly referring to lapis lazuli or blue enamel”
Classical Latin
Latin
cyaneus
“Blue or dark blue, derived from Greek kyanos”
18th Century
German
Cyanit / Kyanit
“Mineralogical names formed from the Greek color root for the blue mineral”
1789
German
Disthene
““Two strengths,” a name emphasizing cyanite’s unequal hardness in different directions”
1790
English
cyanite
“A mineral name based on its typically blue color”
Modern English
English
cyanite
“A blue, gray, white, or green aluminum silicate mineral, commonly called kyanite”