zygadite, n.

zygadite
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zygadite_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zygaditenoun

## Earlier version

- zygadite in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zygadite mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zygadite. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How is the noun zygadite pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɪɡədʌɪt/

### Where does the noun zygadite come from?

Earliest known use

1860s

The earliest known use of the noun zygadite is in the 1860s.

OED's earliest evidence for zygadite is from 1861, in a glossary by Henry William Bristow, geologist.

zygadite is a borrowing from German.

Etymons: German zygadit.

### Nearby entries

1. Zweig, n. 1973–
2. zwieback, n. 1894–
3. zwieselite, n. 1861–
4. Zwinglian, n. & adj. 1532–
5. Zwinglianism, n. 1581–
6. Zwinglianist, n. 1673–1759
7. zwischenzug, n. 1941–
8. zwitterion, n. 1906–
9. zwitterionic, adj. 1946–
10. Zydeco, n. 1949–
11. zygadite, n.1861–
12. zygaena, n. 1717–
13. zygaenid, n. & adj. 1913–
14. zygaenidan, n. 1837–
15. zygal, adj. 1886–
16. zygantrum, n. 1854–
17. zygapophysial, adj. 1870–
18. zygapophysis, n. 1854–
19. zygite, n. 1888–
20. zygnemaceous, adj.
21. zygnemid, n. 1887–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from German.
Etymon: German zygadit.
< German zygadit (Breithaupt), < Greek ζυγάδην in pairs, < ζυγόν yoke.

## Meaning & use

Mineralogy.

1. 1861–
   A variety of albite, occurring in tabular twin crystals, of a yellowish-white or reddish colour.
   1. 1861
      H. W. Bristow, Glossary of Mineralogy
   2. 1886

      > Zygadite..occurs in druses in the slate of St. Andreasberg in association with quartz and sphalerite.

      Journal of Chemical Society vol. 50 518
   minerals
   1. white schorl 1777–
      = albite, n.
   2. albite 1817–
      A sodium-rich plagioclase and an alkali feldspar, typically white or colourless, occurring widely in granitic rocks and also as prismatic…
   3. pericline 1832–
      Mineralogy. A variety of albite occurring as large elongated white crystals, often twinned. Frequently attributive.
   4. adinole 1835–
      A hard, fine-grained rock, rich in albite, resulting from contact metamorphism of shales, slates, etc.
   5. peristerite 1843–
      A sodic plagioclase in the albite–oligoclase range of composition with a blue or bluish-white opalescence.
   6. potass-albite 1850
      A feldspar similar to albite but with sodium partly replaced by potassium; anorthoclase.
   7. zygadite 1861–
      A variety of albite, occurring in tabular twin crystals, of a yellowish-white or reddish colour.
   8. albitite 1896–
      A granular rock consisting largely of albite.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɪɡədʌɪt/

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

zygadite, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zygadite, n. was last modified in March 2025.