from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
obsidian \ob*sid"i*an\, n. [L. Obsidianus lapis, so named,
according to Pliny, after one Obsidius, who discovered it in
Ethiopia: cf. F. obsidiane, obsidienne. The later editions of
Pliny read Obsianus lapis, and Obsius, instead of Obsidianus
lapis, and Obsidius.] (Min.)
A kind of glass produced by volcanoes. It is usually of a
black color, and opaque, except in thin splinters.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In a thin section it often exhibits a fluidal
structure, marked by the arrangement of microlites in
the lines of the flow of the molten mass.
[1913 Webster]