n. See magnesium oxide. [Short for New Latin magnēsia alba, literally, white magnesia : Medieval Latin magnēsia, mineral ingredient in the philosopher's stone (from Greek magnēsiā, a kind of ore, talc or a talclike substance, after Magnēsiē, a region of Thessaly where it was found, from Magnēs, an inhabitant of Thessalian Magnesia) + Latin alba, feminine of albus, white.] mag·nesian adj. |
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