chatoyant

From French chatoyant, present participle of chatoyer (“to iridesce, like a cat's eye”), from chat (“cat”, because of the reflective qualities of a cat's eye).

• (US) IPA^(key): /ʃəˈtɔɪənt/

chatoyant (comparative more chatoyant, superlative most chatoyant)

1. (jewelry) Having a certain optical reflectance effect, which can be likened to the sheen of a spool of silk.

• chatoyancy

chatoyant (plural chatoyants)

1. (mineralogy) A hard stone, such as the cat's-eye, which presents on a polished surface, and in the interior, an undulating or wavy light.

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.twa.jɑ̃/

chatoyant

1. present participle of chatoyer

chatoyant (feminine singular chatoyante, masculine plural chatoyants, feminine plural chatoyantes)

1. shimmering, iridescent

• “chatoyant” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).