Obsidian
//əbˈsɪd.i.ən// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of naturally occurring black glass produced by volcanoes. uncountable, usually
"The Neolithic culture from 8000 to 6000 B.C., however, was a brilliant period of the revival of crafts, the transformation of gathering into gardening, the growth of a cross-cultural obsidian trade, and the rise of towns."
- 2 acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin pieces wordnet
- 3 A slightly bluish black, the color of obsidian glass. uncountable, usually
Adjective
- 1 Black. poetic
"Looks like a yellow biscuit of a buttery cue ball moon / Rolling maverick across an obsidian sky"
Example
More examples"That is the blackest obsidian I have ever seen before."
Etymology
From Latin obsidianus; named after Obsidius, who was, according to Pliny, the Roman who discovered the stone in Aethiopia.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.