Pitchblende

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpɪtʃblÉ›nd/
• Rhymes: -É›nd

Origin

From German Pechblende, from Pech ("pitch") + Blende ("blende").

Full definition of pitchblende

Noun

1. (mineralogy) Naturally-occurring uranium oxide, a variety of the mineral uraninite.
• 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. 205:Working in Paris in 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie processed thousands of pounds of pitchblende from the same glass-factory tailings in order to isolate two radioactive elements that had hitherto been unknown: radium and polonium.