meteorwrong
/ˈmi.ti.əˌɹɑŋ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A rock that is believed to be a meteorite, but is in fact terrestrial in origin; a pseudometeorite.
Humorous
Example Sentences
- "A scarlet precipitate (C₈H₁₄N₄O₄Ni) will be present if nickel is present. A negative test for nickel means you have a "meteorwrong." A positive test may indicate you have a meteorite, but since there are many commercial nickel-iron alloys it is not a conclusive test."
- "Unfortunately, the object turned out to be only a “meteorwrong”—although a deceptive one."
- "Vastly more meteorwrongs are found than meteorites. This should be no surprise. A host of Earth objects—natural and manmade—do indeed look like meteorites, and they are just waiting to be found and to confuse you."
- "Those who work in the field looking for meteorites keep a magnet with them at all times. This is always the first test; if the meteorite suspect is not magnetic, it is a "meteorwrong." Good collectors learn very quickly how to identify meteorwrongs since what may be represented as a very rare stone meteorite (at $200 a gram!) could turn out to be an expensive piece of junk. The classic meteorwrong is an igneous rock known as a Cumberlandite."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmi.ti.əˌɹɑŋ/
- British English: /ˈmiː.tɪ.ə.ɹɒŋ/