Etymology
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spessartite (n.)

manganese garnet, 1853, earlier spessartine (1837), from French spessartine (1832), from Spessart, district in Bavaria where it is found.

Common garnet generally contains manganese as a component ; which is observable in the colour of the globule that results from melting it with soda. One variety, which contains no lime, has been called spessartine, from its locality, Spessart. ["Conversations on Mineralogy," 1837]

updated on August 26, 2022

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