monazite

American  

[mon-uh-zahyt] / ˈmɒn əˌzaɪt /

noun

1. a reddish- or yellowish-brown mineral, a phosphate of cerium and lanthanum, (Ce,La)PO 4 : the principal ore of thorium.

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monazite British  

/ ˈmɒnəˌzaɪt /

noun

1. a yellow to reddish-brown mineral consisting of a phosphate of thorium, cerium, and lanthanum in monoclinic crystalline form

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monazite Scientific  

/ mŏn′ə-zīt′ /

1. A yellow or reddish-brown monoclinic mineral that is a principal ore of several lanthanide (rare-earth) elements. It occurs as tabular crystals in pegmatites, granites, and metamorphic rocks, as well as in sand. Chemical formula: (Ce, La, Nd, Th)PO ₄ .

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Etymology

Origin of monazite

First recorded in 1830–40; from German Monazit, equivalent to monaz- (from Greek monázein “to be alone, live alone”) + -it noun suffix; see mon-, -ite ¹ (so called from its rarity)

Example Sentences

Finally, with tweezers and a microscope, he picked out several hundred grains of zircon and monazite, each smaller than the width of a human hair.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 27, 2019

Another was "lucium", a substance found in 1896 in a reddish-brown mineral called monazite, which turned out to be an impure sample of a rare earth element, yttrium.

From BBC • May 29, 2015

De had trained in Germany with Hahn and Meitner in the 1920s and like Allison, used monazite sand for his research.

From Scientific American • Jul. 5, 2013

Its monazite sands offer the promise of thorium, a source of fissionable material.

From Time Magazine Archive

The mineral monazite is the source of the thorium and cerium compounds which, glowing intensely when heated, form the light-giving material of incandescent gas mantles.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)