1.
[syn: alabaster, oriental alabaster, onyx marble, Mexican onyx]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Onyx \O"nyx\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ? a claw, finger nail, a veined
gem. See Nail, and cf. Onycha.]
1. (Min.) Chalcedony in parallel layers of different shades
of color. It is used for making cameos, the figure being
cut in one layer with the next as a ground.
[1913 Webster]
2. Same as Mexican onyx.
[PJC]
3. A deep jet-black color.
[PJC]
Onyx marble, Mexican onyx, a banded variety of marble or
calcium carbonate resembling onyx. It is obtained from
Mexico in various colors ranging from white to deep black.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
onyx marble
n 1: a hard compact kind of calcite [syn: alabaster, oriental
alabaster, onyx marble, Mexican onyx]