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Webster 1913 Edition

obsidian

ob-sid′i-an

,
Noun.
[L.
Obsidianus lapis
, so named, according to Pliny, after one
Obsidius
, who discovered it in Ethiopia: cf. F.
obsidiane
,
obsidienne
. The later editions of Pliny read
Obsianus lapis
, and
Obsius
, instead of
Obsidianus lapis
, and
Obsidius
.]
(Min.)
A kind of glass produced by volcanoes. It is usually of a black color, and opaque, except in thin splinters.
☞ In a thin section it often exhibits a fluidal structure, marked by the arrangement of microlites in the lines of the flow of the molten mass.

Webster 1828 Edition

Obsidian

OBSID'IAN

,
Noun.
A mineral of two kinds, translucent and transparent. The translucent has a velvet black color; the transparent is of a dark blue. These occur massive in porphyry, gneiss or granite, generally invested with a gray opake crust.
The fracture of obsidian is vitreous or pearly; hence the two varieties, vitreous obsidian and pearlstone.

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