selenite
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English
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/SeleniteGypsumUSGOV.jpg/220px-SeleniteGypsumUSGOV.jpg)
Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) + -ite; the chemistry sense comes via the name of the element selenium.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]selenite (countable and uncountable, plural selenites)
- (mineralogy) A soft, glassy form of gypsum (chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O).
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 295:
- I followed them to my study, and found lying on my writing-table still, with the selenite paper-weight upon it, the sheet of work I had left on the afternoon of the opening of the cylinder.
- 1994, Stewart Brand, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built, New York: Viking, →ISBN, page 146:
- Glass windows replaced the old tiny windows of selenite (crystallized gypsum), and stovepipe replaced adobe chimneys.
- (inorganic chemistry) The anion SeO32− derived from selenous acid; any salt or ester of selenous acid.
Synonyms
[edit]- satin spar (1)
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]gypsum
|
from selenous acid
Further reading
[edit]- David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Selenite”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
- “selenite”, in Mindat.org[1], Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.
Anagrams
[edit]Italian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin selēnītēs, from Ancient Greek σεληνῑ́της (selēnī́tēs, “moonstone”), derived from σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]selenite f (plural seleniti)
- (mineralogy, obsolete) moonstone
- Synonym: pietra di luna
- (mineralogy) selenite
Categories:
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms suffixed with -ite
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Minerals
- English terms with quotations
- en:Inorganic chemistry
- en:Selenium
- Italian terms derived from Latin
- Italian terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Italian 4-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/ite
- Rhymes:Italian/ite/4 syllables
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian feminine nouns
- it:Minerals
- Italian terms with obsolete senses