granaat

Granaat is a Dutch term with several related meanings in science and everyday language. In geology and gemology, granaat refers to the mineral group known in English as garnet. In military terminology, granaat denotes a grenade, a small explosive device designed to be thrown or launched. The word also appears in jewelry and heraldry when describing garnet gemstones.

Garnet is a group of silicate minerals with the general formula X3Y2(SiO4)3, where X and Y are various metal cations. They crystallize in the isometric (cubic) system and commonly form well-shaped crystals such as dodecahedra. Mohs hardness ranges from about 6.5 to 7.5, making garnets suitable as gemstones and as industrial abrasives. Garnets occur in a variety of colors, though red is most famous. Major gemstone varieties include pyrope, grossular, almandine, spessartine, andradite, each defined by different chemical compositions. Garnets are found in metamorphic rocks, such as schists and granulites, as well as in certain igneous and sedimentary environments.

A grenade, or granaat, is a handheld or launched explosive device used in military contexts. Early grenades were hollow iron balls filled with gunpowder and ignited by a fuse; modern grenades are typically fragmentation, smoke, or stun types designed to incapacitate or obscure a battlefield area. Use and possession of grenades are subject to strict legal regulation in most countries.

The term granaat derives from the French grenat, which itself comes from Latin granatus, meaning grain-like, in reference to the appearance of garnet crystals.