OBSID'IAN, noun A mineral of two kinds, translucent and transparent. The translucent has a velvet black color; the transparent is of a dark blue. These occur massive in porphyry, gneiss or granite, generally invested with a gray opake crust. The fracture of obsidian is vitreous or pearly; hence the two varieties, vitreous obsidian and pearlstone.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI