Definition of "corundum" [co•run•dum]

• An extremely hard mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3, sometimes containing iron, magnesia, or silica, that occurs in gem varieties such as ruby and sapphire and in a common black, brown, or blue form used chiefly in abrasives. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Aluminum oxide, when it occurs in crystals rather than on pans, makes up the abrasive called corundum, and is also the principal material of rubies and sapphires the gem colors come from chromium and titanium impurities."
• "The relatively pure crystals are called corundum, while emery is"
• "It should be said first that the only true scientific or synthetic stones on the market are those having the composition and properties of corundum, that is to say, the ruby and the several color varieties of sapphire, as blue, pink, yellow, and white."