apatite
/ˈæpəˌtaɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.20 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A calcium fluoride phosphate of variable composition, sometimes used in the manufacture of fertilizer, as a gemstone, and (in powdered form) as a pigment, and also produced biologically in bones and teeth.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "We had prepared, by precipitation methods, finely divided crystalline apatites that were similar in crystal size and x-ray diffraction profile to bone apatite."
Etymology
From international scientific vocabulary, from German Apatit (“apatite”). Apatit was coined by the German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817), as follows: Ancient Greek ᾰ̓πᾰ́τη (ăpắtē, “deceit, fraud”) (as it is often mistaken for other minerals) + German -it (suffix forming nouns denoting minerals or rocks; cognate with English -ite); the German word was first used in a 1786 book. Regarding minerals that were named for being deceptive and thus confused with others, compare also fool's gold.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Apatit, ᾰ̓πᾰ́τη, -it
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæpəˌtaɪt/
- British English: /ˈæpətaɪt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
apatitic
bioapatite
carbapatite
carbonatoapatite
chlorapatite
fluorapatite
hydroxyapatite
manganapatite