benitoite

[ buh-nee-toh-ahyt ]

noun

1. a rare mineral, barium titanium silicate, BaTiSi 3 O 9 , occurring in blue hexagonal crystals exhibiting dichroism.

Word History and Origins

Origin of benitoite¹

1905–10; named after San Benito County, California; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

There, you’ll see not only the Fricot Nugget, as the massive specimen is called, but also mining artifacts and rare gems and minerals from across the state, including an example of benitoite, an extremely rare gemstone discovered in San Benito County.

From New York Times

Farther north, in San Benito County in central California, is the world’s only known source of benitoite, a bright blue gem coveted by collectors.

From New York Times

Diamond is composed of only a single element; ruby, sapphire and the quartz-group are oxides; spinel and chrysoberyl may be regarded as aluminates; turquoise and Chemical composition. beryllonite are phosphates; and a great number of ornamental stones are silicates of greater or less complexity, such as emerald, topaz, chrysolite, garnet, zircon, tourmaline, kunzite, sphene and benitoite.

From Project Gutenberg