tourmaline

Definitions

1. A complex black or dark-coloured borosilicate mineral, compounded with various chemical elements and considered a semi-precious stone.
   countable, uncountable
2. A transparent gemstone cut from it.
   countable, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“The floor of the chamber was tesselated, of marble and green tourmaline, and on every square of tourmaline was carven the image of a fish⟳: as the dolphin, the conger, the cat-fish, the salmon, the tunny, the squid, and other wonders of the deep.”

“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.)”

CEFR level