spessartine Min.
(ˈspɛsətiːn)
[ad. F. spessartine (Beudant, 1832), f. Spessart a hilly district in north-western Bavaria, where it is found: see -ine5.]
Garnet containing manganese in place of calcium; manganese garnet.
| 1850 Ansted Elem. Geol., Min., etc. 190 Spessartine is the name given to a deep red garnet in which protoxide of manganese replaces the lime of the usual formula, so that it becomes silicate of alumina and manganese. 1888 Rutley Rock-Forming Min. 112 Spessartine, or manganese-alumina garnet, occasionally exhibits a red, or yellowish-red colour. 1910 Encycl. Brit. XI. 471/1 Spessartite, or spessartine,..is a fine aurora-red garnet, cut for jewelry when sufficiently clear. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 128 An individual [garnet] can be regarded as an intimate mixture of two or more of the following end-members: pyrope (magnesium-aluminum garnet), almandine (iron-aluminum garnet), spessartine (manganese-aluminum garnet), grossularite (calcium-aluminum garnet), andradite (calcium-iron garnet), and uvarovite (calcium-chromium garnet). |