Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zircon

/ˈzɜː(ɹ)kən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.60 in modern English

Syllables: zir-con
IPA: /ˈzɜː(ɹ)kən/

17

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or grey colour and consisting of silica and zirconia.

Uncountable

noun

A crystal of zircon, sometimes used as a false gemstone.

Countable

Example Sentences

"[…] salamanders, mermaids, chimaeras, wild men o’ the woods, leviathans, all hewn from faultless gems, thrice the bulk of a big man’s body, velvet-dark sapphires, chrysolite, beryl, amethyst, and the yellow zircon that is like transparent gold."
"Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […]. (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)"
"A zircon princess, seemed to lost her senses"

Etymology

From German Zirkon, possibly via French zircon, formed in the 1780s from Arabic زَرْقُون (zarqūn), borrowed from Middle Persian zlgwn' (/⁠zargōn⁠/). Doublet of jargoon.

Origin

Source language: German

Word Breakdown

Root: Zirkon, zircon, زَرْقُون, zlgwn'

Usage

Inflected Forms

zircons (plural)

Derived Forms

hafnon zirconated zirconation zirconic zirconiferous zirconite zirconium zirconoid

Phrases

zircon blue zircon light zircon-syenite

Frequently Paired Words

jacinth jargon jargoon

Synonyms

zirconium silicate

Rhymes With

gerken mcclurkin

Questions

How do you pronounce zircon?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈzɜː(ɹ)kən/.
What does zircon mean?: A mineral occurring in tetragonal crystals, usually of a brown or grey colour and consisting of silica and zirconia.
Where does zircon come from?: It is traced to German.

How to pronounce zircon

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “zircon”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈzɜː(ɹ)kən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “zircon”.
Repeat and practice — Say “zircon” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.