Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A natural white or colorless hydrated calcium borate, Ca2B6O11·5H2O, that is formed in conjunction with borax deposits and is a principal source of boric acid.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A hydrous calcium borate, occurring in white to colorless monoclinic crystals with brilliant luster, and also in white compact masses, in California. In composition it is nearly identical with priceite.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Min.) A hydrous borate of lime occurring in transparent colorless or white crystals, also massive, in Southern California.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mineralogy A white, grey or colorless mineral form of calcium borate; a principal source of boron.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After William Tell Coleman, (1824–1893), American merchant in California.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coleman +‎ -ite, named after William Tell Coleman (1824-1893) in 1884.

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Examples

  • It is found in some arid countries, as southern California and Tibet, but is now made commercially from the mineral colemanite, which is the calcium salt of a complex boric acid.

    An Elementary Study of Chemistry William McPherson

  • The deposits which at present constitute the principal source of domestic borax are not the playa deposits just described, but are masses of colemanite in Tertiary clays and limestones with interbedded basaltic flows.

    The Economic Aspect of Geology 1915

  • The salts contained in these deposits are mainly borax, ulexite, and colemanite.

    The Economic Aspect of Geology 1915

  • The colemanite occurs in irregular milky-white layers or nodules, mingled with more or less gypsum.

    The Economic Aspect of Geology 1915

  • The principal boron minerals are borax or "tincal" (hydrated sodium borate), colemanite (hydrated calcium borate), ulexite (hydrated calcium-sodium borate), and boracite (magnesium chloro-borate).

    The Economic Aspect of Geology 1915

  • The crude colemanite as mined carries an average of about 25 per cent B_2O_3; it is treated with soda in the manufacture of borax, or with sulphuric acid in making boric acid.

    The Economic Aspect of Geology 1915

  • [14] Boric acid is a common constituent of several minerals such as borax, boracite, boronatrocaicite and colemanite.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] Aton 2009

  • [13] Boric acid is a common constituent of several minerals such as borax, boracite, boronatrocaicite and colemanite.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • [13] Boric acid is a common constituent of several minerals such as borax, boracite, boronatrocaicite and colemanite.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • Ulexite and colemanite must first form boric acid.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] 2009

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