lazurite means A mineral of metamorphosed limestones. Lazurite forms the gemstone lapis lazuli, and crushed lazurite provided the ultramarine color in artists' paint of the Old Masters. Sodalite and lazurite form the sodalite group of silicate minerals. Chemical composition: Sodium aluminum silicate with sulphur, Na₄₋₅Al₃Si₃O₁₂S.
Why “lazurite” is a great word
A deep blue mineral, sodium aluminum silicate with sulphur, which is the primary constituent of lapis lazuli and was historically ground to produce the pigment ultramarine. From Medieval Latin lazur ('lapis lazuli, azure'), from Arabic lāzaward, from Persian lāžvard ('lapis lazuli, azure'), with the English mineral suffix -ite. Unlike 'lapis lazuli' (the variegated rock veined with calcite and flecked with pyrite) or 'azurite' (a copper carbonate mineral of a brighter, more green-tinged blue), lazurite is the concentrated heart of darkness within the stone, the source of its celestial depth. It is the weight of a gem in the palm, the sulfurous breath of crushed stone rising in a medieval workshop, the slow grinding on a basalt slab releasing a blue that once rivaled gold in value—the color of sacred robes and distant skies, drawn not from the heavens, but from the earth’s hidden seams.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin lazur (“lapis lazuli”) (from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward), from Persian لاژورد (lâžvard)) + -ite.
noun
- A mineral of metamorphosed limestones. Lazurite forms the gemstone lapis lazuli, and crushed lazurite provided the ultramarine color in artists' paint of the Old Masters. Sodalite and lazurite form the sodalite group of silicate minerals. Chemical composition: Sodium aluminum silicate with sulphur, Na₄₋₅Al₃Si₃O₁₂S.
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