gossan

English

Etymology

Borrowed in the 1770s from Cornish gossen, from gōs (“blood”), from Old Cornish guit (compare Proto-Celtic *wolis).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɒsən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑsən/

Noun

gossan (countable and uncountable, plural gossans)

1. (geology) Rust-coloured (weatherized and oxidized) rock or mineral deposits, forming the upper part or outcrop of a metallic vein.
   • 2008, L. Nadeau, J.J. Ryan, P. Brouillette, D.T. James, Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5907, page 1:

     Despite being comprised largely of a multiply deformed amphibolite and granulite facies metagranitoid terrain, the region includes supracrustal belts of three different ages, all hosting gossans that signal base- and precious metal prospectivity.

Derived terms

• gossaniferous

References

• “gossan”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “gossan”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• gosans, sangos

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈkossan/

Verb

gossan

1. past indicative connegative of gossat

Participle

gossan

1. past participle of gossat