† onychite Obs.
(ˈɒnɪkaɪt)
Also in Latin form onychites.
[ad. L. onychītis, a. Gr. ὀνυχῖτις (λίθος) onyx stone: see -ite1.]
A stalagmitic limestone or marble, having a banded structure like onyx, and highly prized by the ancients; also called onyx-marble or oriental alabaster.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. I. 147 Of the aforesayd Iewels sent by Otto, one was a precious vessell of stone called Onychites. 1651 Davenant Gondibert ii. vi. 45 From Paros' isle was brought the milky white [marble]..From Araby, the blushing onychite. 1706 Phillips, Onychites, Alabaster, a sort of Marble. [1868 Dana Min. (ed. 5) 679–80 Stalagmite is the Alabastrites (alabaster-stone) in part .. of Theophrastus, Pliny, and other ancient writers..It was also formerly called onyx and onychites.] |