coccolith

[ kok-uh-lith ]

/ ˈkɒk əˌlɪθ /

noun

a microscopic calcareous disk or ring making up part of the covering of certain marine plankton and forming much of the content of chalk rocks.

Nearby words

cocciferous, cocco-, coccobacillary, coccobacillus, coccoid, coccolith, coccus, coccyalgia, coccydynia, coccygeal, coccygeal body

Origin of coccolith

1865–70; < New Latin Coccolithus originally a genus name; see coccus, -o-, -lith

Related formscoc·co·lith·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for coccolith

coccolith

/ (ˈkɒkəlɪθ) /

noun

any of the round calcareous plates in chalk formations: formed the outer layer of unicellular plankton

Word Origin for coccolith

C19: New Latin, from Greek kokkos berry + lithos stone

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