Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AC-TIN'O-LITE, n. [Gr. ακτιν, a ray, and λιθος, a stone.]

A mineral called by Werner, strahlstein, ray-stone, nearly allied to hornblend. It occurs in prismatic crystals, which are long, and incomplete, and sometimes extremely minute and even fibrous. Its prevailing color is green of different shades, or shaded with yellow or brown. There are several varieties, as the common, the massive, the acicular, the glassy, and the fibrous. – Werner. Kirwan. Cleaveland. Actinolite is crystalized, asbestiform, and glassy. – Phillips.