oolith en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈoʊəˌlɪθ/ (General-American)
- /ˈəʊəlɪθ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (UK) audio
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin oolithus; the Latin word was coined by the German doctor and mineralogist Franz Ernst Brückmann (1697–1753) as a translation of German Rogenstein (“oolite”) (Rogen (“fish roe”) + Stein (“stone”)). Oolithus is derived from Ancient Greek ᾠόν (ōión, “egg; seed”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”), in the sense of a bird being clothed in feathers) + λῐ́θος (lĭ́thos, “a stone; stone as a substance”) (see further at that entry), analysable as oo- + -lith.
Meanings
- A spherical granule of which oolite is composed, formed by concentric accretion of thin layers of a mineral (usually calcium carbonate (limestone) but also others such as dolomite and silica) around a core; an ooid.
- (rare) Oolite.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ooliths | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
oolitiferous · oolite · oolithic · oolitic
Synonyms
Translations (6)
ru оолит (spherical granule of which oolite is composed — see also ooid) · de Oolith (spherical granule of which oolite is composed — see also ooid) · ar أوليث (spherical granule of which oolite is composed — see also ooid) · fa اولیت (spherical granule of which oolite is composed — see also ooid) · fi ooliitti (spherical granule of which oolite is composed — see also ooid) · cmn 鮞石 /鲕石 (spherical granule of which oolite is composed — see also ooid)