ˈkwȯrts, -ȯ(ə)ts noun
( -es )
Etymology: German quarz, from Middle High German, perhaps of Slavic origin; akin to Czech tvrdý quartz, from tvrdý, adjective, hard; akin to Greek seira cord, rope, Lithuanian tverti to hold, contain
1. : a mineral SiO 2 consisting of a silicon dioxide that occurs in usually colorless and transparent but sometimes yellow, brown, purple, or green hexagonal crystals, that occurs also in crystalline masses of vitreous luster and in cryptocrystalline massive forms, and that next to feldspar is the commonest mineral (hardness 7, specific gravity of crystals 2.65-2.66)
2. : gold or sometimes silver ore that is either broken or in place as distinguished from auriferous gravel