Post #1637738

Japanese Earth science word of the day: 石英 (せきえい - sekiei) - quartz. From my past posts, you know that 石 means stone, while 英 means something like "glorious" (it is also used for anything related to England, i.e. 英語 - English). It was likely coined in the Edo Period (before 1850). According to Wikipedia, during the Edo Period, the word 水晶 (water crystal) was also used as the world for quartz. This word has more of a connotation of gem quality quartz, compared with 石英. Apparently 水精 was also used as a word for quartz. The precise time 石英 became standard is not known. #Japan #Geology