Meaning & use
chatoyancy
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An optical effect, seen in certain gemstones and materials, in which a band of light appears to move across the surface as it's turned, resembling a cat's eye.
See it in a sentence
The jeweler pointed out the chatoyancy in the cut of the tiger's eye stone.
Chatoyancy gives cat's-eye chrysoberyl its distinctive, shifting sheen.
A note on using this word
From the French word 'chatoyant,' meaning shimmering like a cat's eye; used mainly by gemologists and woodworkers to describe this shifting luster.
Words with a similar meaning
cat's-eye effect
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