9 letters · 25 points in Scrabble
noun a group of minerals of the zeolite family consisting of a hydrous silicate of calcium and aluminum
originFrom French chabasie, coined by Louis-Augustin Bosc d'Antic from Ancient Greek χαβάζιος (khabázios), apparently an error for χαλάζιος (khalázios, “a kind of precious stone”) (which is probably from χάλαζα (khálaza, “hail”), due to looking like a hailstone), one of twenty species of stones mentioned in the poem ascribed to Orpheus. See chalaza and chalazion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0