Quartz
/kwɔːrts/noun
A hard mineral composed of silicon dioxide, often found in crystals or as a major component of rocks.
Did you know?The word quartz entered English through German mining vocabulary, and its deeper origin is uncertain, which makes it one of those rare scientific words whose path is still partly shadowed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kward- / *ward-
“An uncertain proposed source connected to hard or crosswise material, though the exact origin is disputed.”
Middle High German
MHG
quarz
“Quartz; a hard crystalline mineral.”
16th Century
German
Quarz
“Quartz, especially in mining and mineralogical usage.”
16th Century
Latin
quarzum / quarz
“Borrowed scientific/mining term for quartz, used in scholarly descriptions of minerals.”
Early 17th Century
English
quartz
“The mineral quartz.”
Modern English
English
quartz
“A common rock-forming mineral and gemstone.”