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-ite

1
  1. a suffix of nouns denoting especially persons associated with a place, tribe, leader, doctrine, system, etc. ( Campbellite; Israelite; laborite ); minerals and fossils ( ammonite; anthracite ); explosives ( cordite; dynamite ); chemical compounds, especially salts of acids whose names end in -ous ( phosphite; sulfite ); pharmaceutical and commercial products ( vulcanite ); a member or component of a part of the body ( somite ).


-ite

2
  1. a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from adjectives, and from some verbs:

    composite; opposite; erudite; requisite.

-ite

1

suffix forming nouns

  1. a native or inhabitant of

    Israelite

  2. a follower or advocate of; a member or supporter of a group

    labourite

    Luddite

  3. (in biology) indicating a division of a body or organ

    somite

  4. indicating a mineral or rock

    peridotite

    nephrite

  5. indicating a commercial product

    vulcanite

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


-ite

2

suffix forming nouns

  1. indicating a salt or ester of an acid having a name ending in -ous

    a nitrite is a salt of nitrous acid

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

–ite

  1. A suffix used to form the names of minerals, such as hematite and malachite.
  2. A suffix used to form the name of a salt or ester of a specified acid whose name ends in –ous. Such salts or esters have one oxygen atom fewer than corresponding salts or esters with names ending in –ate. For example, a nitrite is a salt of nitrous acid and contains the group NO 2 , while a nitrate contains NO 3 .
  3. Compare –ate


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Word History and Origins

Origin of -ite1

Middle English < Latin -ita < Greek -itēs; often directly < Greek; in some words representing French -ite, German -it, etc. < Latin < Greek, as above

Origin of -ite2

< Latin -itus or -ītus past participle suffix
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Word History and Origins

Origin of -ite1

via Latin -ita from Greek -itēs or directly from Greek

Origin of -ite2

from French, arbitrary alteration of -ate 1
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Example Sentences

“Verification is an awful idea,” says 21-year-old student and social media-ite Emi Suzuki.

Well, ef she aint de beatenes' w'ite 'oman dis side er kingdom come, you kin des shoot me.

The Ky-ro-ite landlord perhaps thought he ought to be well compensated for keeping a hotel in such a place.

"You can't cut no pigeon wing, w'ite boy," said 'Lias, Mammy's grandson.

Here is matrix opal, and here are numbers of strange-hued, crystalline gems with names all ending in "ite."

An acid terminating in -ous forms a salt ending in -ite, and an oxyacid ending in -ic forms a salt ending in -ate.

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