mineralogyn.
/ˌmɪnəˈralədʒi/, U.S. /ˌmɪnəˈrɑlədʒi/, /ˌmɪnəˈrælədʒi/ 1. The branch of science that deals with minerals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geology > mineralogy > [noun]
mineralsa1500
mineralogy1671
oryctography1753
fossilogy1776
oryctognosy1801
oryctology1804
oryctics1888
rockhounding1949
1671 J. Webster Metallographia ii. 30 The Jesuite Bernardus Caesius writ a Voluminous Piece of Minerologie, or Natural Philosophy
1690 R. Boyle Medicina hydrostatica 149 This..will not perhaps be unwelcome to some, that Love Mineralogy, much better than they Vnderstand it.
1717 J. Gay Three Hours after Marriage ii. 41 Be dere any secret in the Hydrology, Zoology, Minerology, Hydraulicks, Acausticks, Pneumaticks, Logarithmatechny, dat you do want de Explanation of?
1728 Universal Instructor 1 Oct. 2 (advt.) Minerology, or the History of the Earth.
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. Pref. 5 In the preceding decennial period, from 1774 to 1784, mineralogy may be said to have for the first time assumed its rank among the sciences.
1830 J. F. W. Herschel Prelim. Disc. Study Nat. Philos. 79 Mineralogy ceased to be..a mere laborious cataloguing of stones and rubbish.
1876 D. Page Adv. Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 6) v. 97 The student must on no account learn to underrate the value of Mineralogy as a branch of Geology.
1929 W. F. Foshag in G. P. Merrill Minerals from Earth & Sky ii. i. 170 Modern mineralogy now knows some fifteen hundred mineral species.
1948 Man 48 6/2 Such impurities as might be present..are likely to need estimation in parts per million rather than in percentages. In geology and to some extent in mineralogy such fine analysis is in its infancy.
1993 A. M. Clark Hey's Mineral Index (ed. 3) p. x The availability of several excellent mineral identification computer programs has reduced the need for reliance on species tabulations in determinative mineralogy.
2. (A description of) the distribution of minerals in a region, or within a rock or rock type. Also (occasionally): a treatise on mineralogy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > [noun] > features or distribution
mineralogy1789
geognosy1801
1724 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (ed. 2) Mineralogy, a Treatise or Description of Minerals or Mines.
1789 T. Jefferson Let. 24 Mar. in Papers (1958) XIV. 699 The botany of America is far from being exhausted: it's Mineralogy is untouched.
1798 R. Jameson (title) An outline of the mineralogy of the Shetland Islands, and of the Island of Arran.
1875 Galaxy Aug. 271/2 This mineral [sc. torbanite] is classed in mineralogies with the resins.
1878 Mineral. Mag. 2 106 (heading) The geognosy and mineralogy of Scotland.
1933 P. G. H. Boswell Mineral. Sedimentary Rocks p. v Having devoted much time to a digest of the literature of the mineralogy of sediments, I published a review of the work.
1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth i. 27/2 Chemical weathering is very effective in producing a mineralogy which differs greatly from that of the igneous and metamorphic rocks.
1993 Nature 25 Mar. 290/3 Other isotope studies seemed to indicate that the original mineralogy and geochemistry of the host rocks themselves were obliterated and overprinted by this continuous flux of fresh ground waters.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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