mineral

The word “mineral” means a naturally occurring solid substance with a definite chemical makeup, such as quartz or salt. In plain terms, a natural, non-living substance, either a rock-forming compound or one of the nutrients your body needs.

“Mineral” is pronounced MIHN-uh-ruhl (/ˈmɪn.ɚ.əl/ in IPA).

Here is “mineral” used in a sentence: “Geologists catalogued dozens of rare minerals in the cave.”

Depending on how it is used, “mineral” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “mineral” comes from Medieval Latin. From Old French mineral, going back to a Medieval Latin word for ore, ultimately from Latin mina, "ore.".

“Mineral” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Mineral” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a naturally occurring solid substance with a definite chemical makeup, such as quartz or salt.

A mineral is a single naturally occurring solid substance with a definite chemical makeup, such as quartz or salt. A rock is usually a mixture of one or more minerals, so it has no single fixed chemical formula.

Both are nutrients the body needs in small amounts, but they differ chemically. Minerals are inorganic elements or compounds, such as calcium or iron, while vitamins are organic compounds originally made by living things.

Under the usual definition, no, because a mineral must be a naturally occurring solid and liquid water is not solid. Naturally formed ice, however, does meet the definition, since it is a solid with a definite chemical makeup.