adularescence
/ˌæd͡ʒ.ə.ləˈɹɛs.əns/
adularescence means the optical phenomenon, exhibited by some specimens (moonstones) of the mineral adularia, of exhibiting a white to pale bluish or rarely pale orange sheen along crystal faces.
adularescence is pronounced /ˌæd͡ʒ.ə.ləˈɹɛs.əns/.
Why “adularescence” is a great word
Adularescence is an optical phenomenon, exhibited by gemstones such as moonstone, where a white to pale bluish sheen appears to billow across the surface. From the mineral name adularia (a variety of orthoclase feldspar, named after the Adula mountain group in the Swiss Alps) + the suffix -escence (denoting a process or state, from Latin -escentia). Unlike labradorescence, with its sharp, metallic iridescence, or chatoyancy, with its concentrated, linear band of light, adularescence is a soft, cloud-like sheen of a single hue. It is a pocket of moonlight caught and drifting beneath a milky surface, a luminous fog perpetually on the verge of dissipating, a cool and silent tide washing over a stone shore—the quiet insistence that the most profound light is often the one held captive, not the one that shines freely.
noun
- The optical phenomenon, exhibited by some specimens (moonstones) of the mineral adularia, of exhibiting a white to pale bluish or rarely pale orange sheen along crystal faces.
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