killalaite · noun — A monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Why “killalaite” is a great word
A monoclinic-prismatic mineral composed of calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon. Its name derives from the suffix '-ite', a common mineralogical suffix from Greek '-itēs' (denoting origin or association), appended to the specific root 'Killala-', a likely but unconfirmed toponym. Unlike wollastonite, a calcium silicate typically devoid of hydrogen, or gyrolite, a phyllosilicate with a layered sheet structure, killalaite is a hydrous sorosilicate with a prismatic crystalline rigidity. It is the subtle gleam on a fractured surface, the precise 101° angle of its cleavage plane, the cool weight of a specimen fresh from a damp fissure—a testament to the fixed and formal memory that matter holds, even in stillness, where water once moved and stayed.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
noun
- A monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- kellyite 68% match — A hexagonal-pyramidal mineral containing aluminum, hydrogen, magnesium, manganese, oxygen, and silicon. vs killalaite →
- hillite 68% match — A triclinic-pinacoidal mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, magnesium, oxygen, phosphorus, sodium, and zinc. vs killalaite →
- mountainite 68% match — A monoclinic-prismatic white mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, potassium, silicon, and sodium. vs killalaite →
- makatite 68% match — A monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing hydrogen, oxygen, silicon, and sodium. vs killalaite →
- hillebrandite 67% match — An orthorhombic-pyramidal mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon. vs killalaite →
- dellaite 67% match — A triclinic-pinacoidal colorless mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon. vs killalaite →
- kalicinite 66% match — A monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and potassium. vs killalaite →
- englishite 66% match — A monoclinic-sphenoidal mineral containing aluminum, calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. vs killalaite →