PYROXENE

noun Etymology: French pyroxène, from Greek pyr- + xenos stranger Date: 1800 any of a group of igneous-rock-forming silicate minerals that contain calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, or aluminum, usually occur in short prismatic crystals or massive form, are often laminated, and vary in color from white to dark green or black, pyroxenic adjective pyroxenoid adjective or noun