zircon

Etymology

From German Zirkon, possibly via French zircon, formed in the 1780s from Arabic زَرْقُون (zarqūn). Doublet of jargoon.

noun

1. (uncountable) A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or grey colour and consisting of silica and zirconia.
   Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […]. (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.) 2012-03, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 2012-06-14, page 128
2. (countable) A crystal of zircon, sometimes used as a false gemstone.
   A zircon princess, seemed to lost her senses 1982, “The Message”, performed by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five