Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a very common mineral, iron oxide, Fe2O3, occurring in steel-gray to black crystals and in red earthy masses: the principal ore of iron.
noun
- a red, grey, or black mineral, found as massive beds and in veins and igneous rocks. It is the chief source of iron. Composition: iron (ferric) oxide. Formula: Fe 2 O 3 . Crystal structure: hexagonal (rhombohedral)Also called: iron glance
1540s, haematites, from Middle French hematite (16c.), from Latin haematites, from Greek haimatites lithos “bloodlike stone,” from haima (genitive haimatos) “blood” (see -emia). Earlier as emachite (late 14c.).
- A reddish-brown to silver-gray metallic mineral. Hematite occurs as rhombohedral crystals, as reniform (kidney-shaped) crystals, or as fibrous aggregates in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is the most abundant ore of iron, and it is usually slightly magnetic. Chemical formula: Fe2O3.