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mirabilite

mirabilite noun: an evaporite, consisting of sodium sulfate, with the chemical formula Na₂SO₄·10H₂O.

mirabilite: an evaporite, consisting of sodium sulfate, with the chemical formula Na₂SO₄·10H₂O
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Noun

mirabilite (plural mirabilites)

  1. An evaporite, consisting of sodium sulfate, with the chemical formula Na₂SO₄·10H₂O.
    • Mounds of mirabilite have been observed near the north-west side of White Island, (e.g., Debenham 1965). These mirabilites probably originated by infiltration of sea water into the ice shelf, followed by ablation of the surface until the brines were exposed to evaporation and freeze concentration...1975, M. K. Stewart, “Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Studies on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica”, in New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Volume 18, Number 1, page 61
    • Bedded deposits of mirabilite occur in coastal areas of East Antarctica, such as the Vestfold Hills and in the Skarvsnes area of Lutzow-Holm Bay, about 1500 km further west (Fig 1.3).1987, I. B. Campbell, G. G. C. Claridge, Antarctica: Soils, Weathering Processes and Environment, Elsevier, page 253
    Synonyms:
    Glauber's salt

Examples of mirabilite in a sentence

  • Mounds of mirabilite have been observed near the north-west side of White Island, (e.g., Debenham 1965).1975, M. K. Stewart, “Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Studies on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica”, in New Zealand Journal of Geology and...
  • Mirabilite could have been and probably was scooped up off the cave floor and out of breakdown hollows, or brushed off ceilings and walls where it forms abundantly.2002, George M. Crothers, Charles H. Faulkner, Jan F. Simek, Patty Jo Watson, P. Willey, “23: Woodland Cave Archaeology in Eastern North...

Synonyms of mirabilite

Forms of mirabilite

pluralmirabilites

Origin of mirabilite

From Latin mīrābilis (“miraculous”) + -ite. From the Latin term sal mirabilis (“wonderful salt”), which was used by German-Dutch alchemist Johann Rudolph Glauber (1604–1670) after he inadvertently synthesised the substance.

Questions about mirabilite

What does mirabilite mean?
Mirabilite means an evaporite, consisting of sodium sulfate, with the chemical formula Na₂SO₄·10H₂O.
How do you use mirabilite in a sentence?
Mounds of mirabilite have been observed near the north-west side of White Island, (e.g., Debenham 1965).
What part of speech is mirabilite?
Mirabilite is a noun.
What is the plural of mirabilite?
The plural of mirabilite is mirabilites.

Words near mirabilite in the dictionary

  1. mirabile visu
  2. Mirabiles
  3. mirabilia
  4. mirabilis
  5. mirabilises
  6. mirabilite
  7. mirabilites
  8. mirability
  9. mirabilysin
  10. mirable
  11. mirabolan

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: mirabilite (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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