Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
mineralogy

mineralogy

2 7.7
The study of natural solid materials that form rocks
  • noun
  • /ˌmɪnəˈrælədʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mineralogía
  • Understanding the principles of mineralogy is essential for geologists who wish to explore Earth's natural resources.
  • mineralogy and geology
  • zoology or mineralogy
  • botany, mineralogy

Examples

  • Researchers in mineralogy classify minerals based on their properties and how they can be identified.

  • Consequently, the mineralogy of the Martian soil remains a tantalizing mystery.

    Academic text (1994)

  • By looking at the mineralogy alone, we can...

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Just 14 pages long, that text was a valuable work on mineralogy for 18 centuries.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Cosmic dust has a unique mineralogy because these particles formed in space, an environment totally different from Earth.

    Academic text (2001)

  • His collection represents Britain's mineralogy and holds many of the best examples of British minerals.

    Blog text (30)

  • Natural history branches include, but are not limited to, botany, zoology, geology, mineralogy, astronomy, ecology, and meteorology.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Individuals tended to concentrate their collecting and hone their expertise in one or several particular areas: botany, zoology or mineralogy, numismatics, prints, paintings, etc.

    Academic text (1993)

  • In criminal cases where there is no DNA or fingerprint evidence, or reliable witness testimony, a soil location’s highly individualized mineralogy has the potential to be combined with trace soil evidence on clothing to uncover the circumstances behind both current and unsolved criminal cases.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The study of mineralogy involves analyzing the crystal structures and chemical compositions of various minerals.

How Specialized

crystallography
  • Specialized
1 7.9
mineralogy
  • Specialized
2 7.7
geology
  • Specialized
49 3.5
earth science
  • Specialized
3 3.4
science
∞ 1.3

Surface Forms

mineralogy singular
mineralogies plural

Morphology

mineralogy = mineral (transparent) = mineral + ogy

Formed by attaching the productive combining suffix '-ogy' (study of) to 'mineral', yielding the obvious meaning 'study of minerals'.

Etymology

The word mineralogy comes from mineral (things originally found in a 'mine') and the ending -ology meaning 'study of', like in biology and geology. So mineralogy is the study of minerals, their structure, properties and how to identify them.