Pyroxene

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /pʌɪˈɹɒksiːn/
• US IPA: /paɪˈɹɑksiːn/

Origin

From French pyroxène, from pyro- + Ancient Greek ξένος ("stranger").

Full definition of pyroxene

Noun

1. (mineralogy) Any of a group of crystalline minerals containing silicates of iron, magnesium and calcium.
• 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. 10:By the pathside, there are occasional large boulders that shown black crystals the size of a fingernail; these are pyroxene minerals that had time to crystallise out deep within the chamber of liquid rock – or magma – beneath the volcano.