malacoliten.
/ˈmaləkə(ʊ)lʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈmæləkoʊˌlaɪt/ Mineralogy.
A mineral now usually regarded as identical with diopside.Malacolite has sometimes been differentiated from typical diopside on the basis of colour or physical properties.
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > inosilicates single chain > [noun] > pyroxene > clinopyroxenes > diopside
diopside1808
alalite1809
malacolite1814
mussite1819
canaanite1844
1814 A. Aikin & C. R. Aikin Dict. Chem. & Mineral. (new ed.) II. 52/2 Malacolite..is very soft to the touch, (whence its name)... This mineral was first met with in Sweden, in the silver-mines of Sahla in Westermanland.
1859 D. Page Handbk. Geol. Terms 243 Malacolite, known also as Sahlite; a variety of augite of various shades of green, and of a vitreous or sub-pearly lustre.
1868 J. D. Dana Syst. Mineral. (ed. 5) 214 Malacolite, as originally used, included a bluish-gray, grayish-green, and whitish translucent variety from Sala, Sweden.
1930 B. N. Peach & J. Horne Chapters Geol. Scotl. ii. 67 One of the pale xenoliths was found to consist of malacolite..and green hornblende.
1967 Current Sci. 36 iii. 74/2 Microscopic examination of thin sections of these rocks revealed the presence of the mineral malacolite.
1988 Mineral. Mag. 52 548 (table) Malacolite = diopside with good (001) parting.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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