sunstone

English

Etymology

sun +‎ stone. Compare Icelandic sólarsteinn.

Noun

English Wikipedia has an article on:

sunstone

Wikipedia

sunstone (countable and uncountable, plural sunstones)

1. (mineralogy) A translucent form of feldspar having flakes of hematite, used as an ornamental stone.
2. A stone, possibly Icelandic spar, said in late medieval sources to have been used by navigators in the Viking Age and later to find the location of the sun in an overcast sky, possibly via polatization of light.

Synonyms

• heliolite

Translations

a translucent form of feldspar with flakes of hematite

Greek: Ancient: κεραύνιος m (keraúnios)

navigation aid

German: Sonnenstein

See also

• aventurine, aventurin, avanturine
• moonstone

Further reading

• David Barthelmy (1997–2025), “Sunstone”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
• “sunstone”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2025.

Anagrams

• neustons