apatite
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apatite
- /ˈæpətaɪt/ UK
- /ˈæpəˌtaɪt/ US
Sounds like appetite (GA pronunciation)
Where it comes from
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.
noun apatites
- 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. We had prepared, by precipitation methods, finely divided crystalline apatites that were similar in crystal size and x-ray diffraction profile to bone apatite.
Translations
Talk about this word "apatite." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/apatite. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. apatite. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/apatite "apatite." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/apatite.Cite this
@misc{apatite_2026,
title = {apatite},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/apatite},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
