Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ophiolite

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.81 in modern English

Syllables: ophi-o-lite
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An assemblage of mafic and ultramafic rock fragments of the ocean lithosphere that has been tectonically moved onto a continental margin or island.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὄφις (óphis, “serpent”) + -lite.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: ὄφις
Suffix: lite

Inflected Forms

ophiolites (plural)

Derived Forms

ophiolitic ophiolitologist

Questions

What does ophiolite mean?: An assemblage of mafic and ultramafic rock fragments of the ocean lithosphere that has been tectonically moved onto a continental margin or island.
Where does ophiolite come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce ophiolite

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