pyrrhotite

American  

[pir-uh-tahyt] / ˈpɪr əˌtaɪt /

noun

1. a common mineral, iron sulfide, approximately FeS but variable because of a partial absence of ferrous ions, occurring in massive and in crystal forms with a bronze color and metallic luster; magnetic pyrites: generally slightly magnetic.

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pyrrhotite British  

/ ˈpɪrəˌtiːn, ˈpɪrəˌtaɪt, -tɪn, -ˌtaɪn /

noun

1. a common bronze-coloured magnetic mineral consisting of ferrous sulphide in hexagonal crystalline form. Formula: FeS

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Etymology

Origin of pyrrhotite

1868; < Greek pyrrhót ( ēs ) redness + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

In her book “Lorna Simpson Collages,” from last year, she embellishes vintage photos of models, giving them hairdos made of nightshade-colored plumes and nuggets of pyrrhotite, linking the stylized to the fecund and the surreal.

From The New Yorker • May 14, 2019

It’s one of an estimated 30,000 or more houses in eastern and central Connecticut with failing foundations blamed on the mineral pyrrhotite that was in concrete mixtures.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2018

The stone aggregate used in the concrete mixture has high levels of pyrrhotite, an iron sulfide mineral that can react with oxygen and water to cause swelling and cracking.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2016

For example, all the specimens of bornite and pyrrhotite examined yielded sulphuretted hydrogen with tartaric, citric, and oxalic acids, but chalcopyrite and pyrite do not.

From The Galaxy, April, 1877 Vol. XXIII.—April, 1877.—No. 4. by Various

The copper deposits are mainly in well-marked fracture planes in serpentine; the ore is pyrrhotite, with or without chalcopyrite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various