Definitions for marcasite
ˈmɑr kəˌsaɪtmar·c·a·site

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. marcasitenoun

   A pale mineral, FeS. Marcasite is physically and crystallographically distinct from pyrite, although the two have the same chemical composition.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Marcasitenoun

   The term marcasite has been very improperly used by some for bismuth, and by others for zink: the more accurate writers however always express a substance different from either of these by it, sulphureous and metallick. The marcasite is a solid hard fossil, of an obscurely and irregularly foliaceous structure, of a bright glittering appearance, and naturally found in continued beds among the veins of ores, or in the fissures of stone: the variety of forms this mineral puts on is almost endless: as it is generally found among the ores of metals, it is frequently impregnated with particles of them, and of other fossile bodies, and thence assumes various colours and degrees of hardness. There are however only three distinct species of it; one of a bright gold colour, another of a bright silver, and a third of a dead white: the silvery one seems to be peculiarly meant by the writers on the Materia Medica. Marcasite is very frequent in the mines of Cornwall, where the workmen call it mundick, but more so in Germany, where they extract vitriol and sulphur from it, besides which it contains a quantity of arsenick. Hill.

   The writers of minerals give the name pyrites and marcasites indifferently to the same sort of body: I restrain the name of pyrites wholly to the nodules, or those that are found lodged in strata that are separate: the marcasite is part of the matter that either constitutes the stratum, or is lodged in the perpendicular fissures. John Woodward, Met. Fossils.

   The acid salt dissolved in water is the same with oil of sulphur per campanam, and abounding much in the bowels of the earth, and particularly in marcasites, unites itself to the other ingredients of the marcasite, which are bitumen, iron, copper, and earth, and with them compounds alum, vitriol, and sulphur: with the earth alone it compounds alum; with the metal alone, or metal and earth together, it compounds vitriol; and with the bitumen and earth it compounds sulphur: whence it comes to pass, that marcasites abound with those three minerals. Isaac Newton, Opticks.

   Here marcasites in various figures wait,
   To ripen to a true metallick state. Samuel Garth, Dispensatory.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Marcasite

   The mineral marcasite, sometimes called “white iron pyrite”, is iron sulfide (FeS2) with orthorhombic crystal structure. It is physically and crystallographically distinct from pyrite, which is iron sulfide with cubic crystal structure. Both structures do have in common that they contain the disulfide S22− ion, having a short bonding distance between the sulfur atoms. The structures differ in how these di-anions are arranged around the Fe2+ cations. Marcasite is lighter and more brittle than pyrite. Specimens of marcasite often crumble and break up due to the unstable crystal structure. On fresh surfaces, it is pale yellow to almost white and has a bright metallic luster. It tarnishes to a yellowish or brownish color and gives a black streak. It is a brittle material that cannot be scratched with a knife. The thin, flat, tabular crystals, when joined in groups, are called “cockscombs”. In marcasite jewellery, pyrite used as a gemstone is called “marcasite” – that is, marcasite jewellery is made from pyrite, not from the mineral marcasite. Marcasite in the scientific sense is not used as a gem due to its brittleness. In the late medieval and early modern eras, the word “marcasite” meant all iron sulfides in general, including both pyrite and the mineral marcasite. The narrower, modern scientific definition for marcasite as orthorhombic iron sulfide dates from 1845. The jewelers’ sense for the word “marcasite” pre-dates this 1845 scientific redefinition.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Marcasitenoun

   a sulphide of iron resembling pyrite or common iron pyrites in composition, but differing in form; white iron pyrites

2. Etymology: [F. marcassite; cf. It. marcassita, Sp. marquesita, Pg. marquezita; all fr. Ar. marqashtha.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Marcasite

   The mineral marcasite, sometimes called white iron pyrite, is iron sulfide with orthorhombic crystal structure. It is physically and crystallographically distinct from pyrite, which is iron sulfide with cubic crystal structure. Both structures do have in common that they contain the disulfide S22- ion having a short bonding distance between the sulfur atoms. The structures differ in how these dianions are arranged around the Fe2+ cations. Marcasite is lighter and more brittle than pyrite. Specimens of marcasite often crumble and break up due to the unstable crystal structure. On fresh surfaces it is pale yellow to almost white and has a bright metallic luster. It tarnishes to a yellowish or brownish color and gives a black streak. It is a brittle material that cannot be scratched with a knife. The thin, flat, tabular crystals, when joined in groups, are called "cockscombs." In marcasite jewellery, pyrite used as a gemstone is termed "marcasite". That is, marcasite jewellery is made from pyrite not from marcasite. In the late medieval and early modern eras the word "marcasite" meant both pyrite and marcasite. The narrower, modern scientific definition for marcasite as orthorhombic iron sulfide dates from 1845. The jewellery sense for the word pre-dates this 1845 scientific redefinition. Marcasite in the scientific sense is not used as a gem due to its brittleness.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Marcasite

   mär′ka-sīt, n. an iron ore, a variety of pyrites (q.v.). [Fr.; prob. of Ar. origin.]

How to pronounce marcasite?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of marcasite in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of marcasite in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

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References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Marcasite
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=marcasite
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcasite
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marcasite
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=marcasite
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=marcasite