Of or relating to steel or iron; having the characteristics of steel, particularly in color, luster, or hardness.
From Latin chalybeus with the addition of the suffix -ous. This is a more technical or botanical term used in scientific descriptions, often appearing in older naturalist writings.
In 18th-century naturalist journals, chalybeous was used to describe minerals that had a steely appearance—scientists literally had to borrow metalworking vocabulary because they lacked precision instruments to identify minerals any other way!
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