ˈmīkə noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: New Latin (probably influenced by Latin micare to flash, sparkle), from Latin mica grain, crumb; akin to Greek mikros small, short — more at dimication , micr-
: any of a group of minerals that crystallize in forms apparently orthorhombic or hexagonal but really monoclinic and characterized by highly perfect cleavage, readily separating into very thin somewhat elastic leaves, that are all silicates although differing widely in composition and varying in color from colorless, pale brown, or yellow to green or black, that are prominent constituents of many igneous and metamorphic rocks, and that form a division including the brittle micas and chlorites as well as the micas proper — see biotite , lepidolite , lepidomelane , muscovite , paragonite , phlogopite , zinnwaldite ; compare damourite