 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Agate \A*gate"\, adverb [Pref. a- on + gate way.] On the way; agoing; as, to be agate; to set the bells agate. [Obs.] --Cotgrave.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Agate \Ag"ate\, noun [F. agate, It. agata, L. achates, fr. Gr. ?.]
1. (Min.) A semipellucid, uncrystallized variety of quartz, presenting various tints in the same specimen. Its colors are delicately arranged in stripes or bands, or blended in clouds.
Note: The fortification agate, or Scotch pebble, the moss agate, the clouded agate, etc., are familiar varieties.
2. (Print.) A kind of type, larger than pearl and smaller than nonpareil; in England called ruby.
Note: This line is printed in the type called agate.
3. A diminutive person; so called in allusion to the small figures cut in agate for rings and seals. [Obs.] --Shak.
4. A tool used by gold-wire drawers, bookbinders, etc.; -- so called from the agate fixed in it for burnishing.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Chalcedony \Chal*ced"o*ny\ (k[a^]l*s[e^]d"[-o]*n[y^] or k[a^]l"s[-e]*d[-o]*n[y^]; 277), noun; pl. {Chalcedonies} (-n[i^]z). [ L. chalcedonius, fr. Gr. CHalkhdw'n Chalcedon, a town in Asia Minor, opposite to Byzantium: cf. calc['e]doine, OE. calcidoine, casidoyne. Cf. {Cassidony}.] (Min.) A cryptocrystalline, translucent variety of quartz, having usually a whitish color, and a luster nearly like wax. [Written also {calcedony}.]
Note: When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called {agate}; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called {onyx}. {Chrysoprase} is green chalcedony; {carnelian}, a flesh red, and {sard}, a brownish red variety. ||
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
agate
noun: an impure form of quartz consisting of banded chalcedony; used as a gemstone and for making mortars and pestles
From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:
Agate, CO Zip code(s): 80101
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Agate (Heb. shebo), a precious stone in the breast-plate of the high priest (Ex. 28:19; 39:12), the second in the third row. This may be the agate properly so called, a semi-transparent crystallized quartz, probably brought from Sheba, whence its name. In Isa. 54:12 and Ezek. 27:16, this word is the rendering of the Hebrew cadcod, which means "ruddy," and denotes a variety of minutely crystalline silica more or less in bands of different tints. This word is from the Greek name of a stone found in the river Achates in Sicily.
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |