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Origin and history of mineral

mineral(n.)

late 14c., "substance obtained by mining," from Old French mineral and directly from Medieval Latin minerale "something mined," noun use of neuter of mineralis "pertaining to mines," from minera "a mine" (see mine (n.1)).

Meaning "material substance that is neither animal nor vegetable" is attested from early 15c. The modern scientific sense ("inorganic body occurring in nature, homogeneous and having a definite chemical composition and certain distinguishing physical characteristics") is by 1813.

As an adjective, early 15c., "neither animal nor vegetable, inorganic," from Old French mineral and directly from Medieval Latin mineralis. The sense of "impregnated with minerals" is first in mineral water (early 15c.), which originally was "water found in nature with some mineral substance dissolved in it" (later made so artificially).

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to mineral

mine(n.1)

"pit or tunnel made in the earth for the purpose of obtaining metals and minerals," c. 1300, from Old French mine "vein, lode; tunnel, shaft; mineral ore; mine" (for coal, tin, etc,) and from Medieval Latin mina, minera "ore," a word of uncertain origin, probably from a Celtic source (compare Welsh mwyn, Irish mein "ore, mine"), from Old Celtic *meini-. Italy and Greece were relatively poor in minerals, thus they did not contribute a word for this to English, but there was extensive mining from an early date in Celtic lands (Cornwall, etc.).

From c. 1400 in the military sense of "a tunnel under fortifications to overthrow them" (for further development of this sense see mine (n.2)).

mineralogy(n.)

"science which treats of the properties of minerals," 1680s, a hybrid from mineral (n.) + -logy or else from French minéralogie (1640s). Related: Mineralogist; mineralogical.

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    mica
    type of mineral that can be separated easily into extremely thin, tough laminae, 1706, from a Modern Latin specialized use...The word was applied to the mineral probably on the supposition that it was related to Latin micare "to flash, glitter" (...
    orpiment
    "arsenic trisulphide," a bright yellow mineral substance used in dyeing as a pigment and also medicinally and for destroying...
    celadon
    The mineral celadonite (1868) is so called for its color....
    alum
    "whitish mineral salt used as an astringent, dye, etc.," late 14c., from Old French alum, alun, from Latin alumen "alum,"...
    alabaster
    "translucent, whitish, marble-like mineral used for vases, ornaments, and busts," late 14c., from Old French alabastre (12c...
    brimstone
    Formerly "the mineral sulfur," it is now restricted to biblical usage....
    animal
    1630s as "pertaining to or derived from beasts;" 1640s as "pertaining to the animal kingdom" (as opposed to vegetable or mineral...
    garnet
    mid-15c., metathesized form of gernet "the gem garnet" (early 14c.), from Old French grenate, gernatte, granate "garnet," also an adjective, "of a dark red color," from Medieval Latin granatum "garnet; of dark red color," perhaps abstracted from the Medieval Latin or Old French w
    argent
    early 15c., "silver, silver coin," from Old French argent "silver, silver money; quicksilver" (11c.), from Latin argentum "silver, silver work, silver money," from PIE *arg-ent-, suffixed form of root *arg- "to shine; white," thus "silver" as "the shining or white metal." It was
    calamine
    "zinc carbonate," also, confusedly, "zinc silicate," 1590s, from French calamine, from Old French calemine, chalemine (13c.), from Medieval Latin calamina, corrupted by alchemists from Latin cadmia "zinc ore," from Greek kadmeia (see cadmium). Or possibly the Medieval Latin word

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