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Zircon
A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered
This page kindly sponsored byEric D. Fritzsch
Zirkon appears to occur first in Abraham Gottlob Werner's (1780) translation of Axel F. Cronstedt's "Försök till en mineralogie, eller mineral rikets upställning." (1751). Werner adds a short additional comment to Cronstedt's text: "Jargons oder Zirkonen sind weisse, graue, auch blasgelbe und blasrothe Hyazinthen; die öfters für Diamante verkauft werden." Werner considers zirkon as an alternative spelling forsargone orjargon.
These latter names, and thereby zircon, descend from medieval French (jargonce), Italian (giarconsia) and Spanish (iargonça). These in turn originate from the old Frenchjargonce. The Dictionnaire Étymologique de l'Ancien Français (2007) provides several references and quotes forjargonce, the oldest from the 12th century.
German scientists adapted the namezirkon and work by Klaproth, Emmerling and others establishedzirkon as the preferred spelling in scientific literature. Hauy (1801) in hisTraité de minéralogie also adapted the namezircon.
It has been suggested that jargonce is related to the medieval Syriacyaqūndā, a similar gemstone. (Smith, R. P., & Hanson, K. C. (Eds.) (2007) Thesaurus syriacus). This suggestion leans heavily on Schuchardt (1904). He discusses in detail the link between Greek ὐαϰινθος, the Latin Hyacinthus and the Syriac jūganta, but he fails to address the phonetic leap between hyacinth and jargons in French, or to give any explanation as of how, when or why hyacinthus were changed to jargons.
The common association of zircon with Arabic and Persian “azargun” seems to be a modern construct, as there is no etymological evidence supporting this association.
It is possible to trace the word jargons/jargonce and their spelling variants back to France in the 12th or 13th century, but the original meaning of the word is not known. Any theory proposing the origin and original meaning of this word must be able to link this origin with the usage in France in the 12th and 13th century.
See alsohttps://www.mindat.org/article.php/4833/Zircon+-+The+early+history+and+the+origin+of+the+name
These latter names, and thereby zircon, descend from medieval French (jargonce), Italian (giarconsia) and Spanish (iargonça). These in turn originate from the old Frenchjargonce. The Dictionnaire Étymologique de l'Ancien Français (2007) provides several references and quotes forjargonce, the oldest from the 12th century.
German scientists adapted the namezirkon and work by Klaproth, Emmerling and others establishedzirkon as the preferred spelling in scientific literature. Hauy (1801) in hisTraité de minéralogie also adapted the namezircon.
It has been suggested that jargonce is related to the medieval Syriacyaqūndā, a similar gemstone. (Smith, R. P., & Hanson, K. C. (Eds.) (2007) Thesaurus syriacus). This suggestion leans heavily on Schuchardt (1904). He discusses in detail the link between Greek ὐαϰινθος, the Latin Hyacinthus and the Syriac jūganta, but he fails to address the phonetic leap between hyacinth and jargons in French, or to give any explanation as of how, when or why hyacinthus were changed to jargons.
The common association of zircon with Arabic and Persian “azargun” seems to be a modern construct, as there is no etymological evidence supporting this association.
It is possible to trace the word jargons/jargonce and their spelling variants back to France in the 12th or 13th century, but the original meaning of the word is not known. Any theory proposing the origin and original meaning of this word must be able to link this origin with the usage in France in the 12th and 13th century.
See alsohttps://www.mindat.org/article.php/4833/Zircon+-+The+early+history+and+the+origin+of+the+name
Dimorph of:
Isostructural with:
Zircon Group. The zirconium analogue ofThorite andHafnon.Zircon-Hafnon Series. The low-pressure dimorph ofReidite.
Zircon, zirconium orthosilicate, is found in most igneous rocks and some metamorphic rocks as small crystals or grains, mostly widely distributed and rarely more than 1% of the total mass of the rock. It is also found as alluvial grains in some sedimentary rocks due to its high hardness. Zircon has a high refraction index and, when the crystals are large enough, is often used as a gemstone.
In geology, zircon is used for radiometric dating of zircon-bearing rocks (using isotopes of U which is often present as an impurity element, as is Th, radiogenic Pb, Hf, Y, P, and others). The uranium concentration of zircon is generally very high, between 300 and 600 ppm and a melting temperature of 2550 °C, making zircon a good mineral for age dating.
Compare'UM1984-36-SiO:CaNaZr'.
Visit gemdat.org forgemological information about Zircon.
Zircon, zirconium orthosilicate, is found in most igneous rocks and some metamorphic rocks as small crystals or grains, mostly widely distributed and rarely more than 1% of the total mass of the rock. It is also found as alluvial grains in some sedimentary rocks due to its high hardness. Zircon has a high refraction index and, when the crystals are large enough, is often used as a gemstone.
In geology, zircon is used for radiometric dating of zircon-bearing rocks (using isotopes of U which is often present as an impurity element, as is Th, radiogenic Pb, Hf, Y, P, and others). The uranium concentration of zircon is generally very high, between 300 and 600 ppm and a melting temperature of 2550 °C, making zircon a good mineral for age dating.
Compare'UM1984-36-SiO:CaNaZr'.
Visit gemdat.org forgemological information about Zircon.
