zircon

noun

Etymology: From German Zirkon, possibly via French zircon, formed in the 1780s from Arabic زَرْقُون (zarqūn), borrowed from Middle Persian zlgwn' (/⁠zargōn⁠/). Doublet of jargoon.

1. A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or grey colour and consisting of silica and zirconia.

   “[…] salamanders, mermaids, chimaeras, wild men o’ the woods, leviathans, all hewn from faultless gems, thrice the bulk of a big man’s body, velvet-dark sapphires, chrysolite, beryl, amethyst, and the yellow zircon that is like transparent gold.”

   “Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […]. (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)”

2. A crystal of zircon, sometimes used as a false gemstone.

   “A zircon princess, seemed to lost her senses”