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

In 1916 the United States imported 2,500,000 pounds of monazite from Brazil and India, most of which used to go to Germany.

From Creative Chemistry Descriptive of Recent Achievements in the Chemical Industries by Slosson, Edwin E.