sillimanite

sil·li·man·ite

noun \ˈsi-lə-mə-ˌnīt\

Definition of SILLIMANITE

: a brown, grayish, or pale green mineral that consists of an aluminum silicate in orthorhombic crystals often occurring in fibrous or columnar forms

Origin of SILLIMANITE

Benjamin Silliman †1864 American geologist

First Known Use: circa 1830

sillimanite

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Brown, pale green, or white glassy silicate mineral that often occurs in long, slender, needlelike crystals frequently found in fibrous aggregates. An aluminum silicate, AlOSiO, it occurs in high-temperature regionally metamorphosed clay-rich rocks (e.g., schists and gneisses). Sillimanite is found at many localities in France, Madagascar, and the eastern U.S.; a pale sapphire-blue gem variety occurs in the gravels of Sri Lanka.

Variants of SILLIMANITE

sillimanite or fibrolite