Olivine
A mineral-group and field name typically denoting Mg–Fe orthosilicates, notably the forsterite–fayalite series.
Language and route: German ← French / European colour term. The name takes its allusion from the olive, through European Olivin/olivine terminology, referring to the yellow-green mineral colour.
Literal gloss: olive-coloured
The name and its history
Abraham Gottlob Werner · 1789–1790 (sources vary)
- What does the word literally mean?
- The transmitted name is The name takes its allusion from the olive, through European Olivin/olivine terminology, referring to the yellow-green mineral colour. The short gloss ‘olive-coloured’ is a guide to the naming allusion, not by itself a modern mineralogical definition.
- What did the original author mean?
- Werner applied Olivin to olive-coloured material in the late 1780s or around 1790, following earlier names such as chrysolite and peridot.
- Why was the name needed?
- Appearance-based naming helped sort seemingly different green minerals before chemical analyses recognised compositional continuity.
- What evidence supported the original concept?
- Colour and hand-specimen characters originally supplied recognition; compositional analyses later separated magnesium- and iron-rich end-members.
- How has geology changed the concept?
- Olivine is generally a group or series label, not a unique IMA species defined by a single chemical formula.
Further historical context
Werner applied Olivin to olive-coloured material in the late 1780s or around 1790, following earlier names such as chrysolite and peridot.
Appearance-based naming helped sort seemingly different green minerals before chemical analyses recognised compositional continuity.
Colour and hand-specimen characters originally supplied recognition; compositional analyses later separated magnesium- and iron-rich end-members.
Olivine is generally a group or series label, not a unique IMA species defined by a single chemical formula.
Related names
Forsterite · Fayalite · Igneous · Peridotite · Dunite · Lherzolite · Harzburgite
Sources
- King (2009), The olivine group, Geology Today — Historical sequence of olivine, forsterite and fayalite and nomenclatural context
- Mindat, Forsterite — Lévy (1824) — Named for Adolarius Jacob Forster; multiple earlier names
- IMA–CNMNC, List of Mineral Names (updated September 2026) — Contemporary mineral-species standing; consult live master list