saponite

[ sap-uh-nahyt ]

noun
  1. a clay mineral, hydrous magnesium aluminum silicate, belonging to the montmorillonite group: found as a soft filling in rock cavities.

Origin of saponite

1
1840–50; <Swedish saponit<Latin sāpōn- (stem of sāpō) soap + Swedish -it-ite1

Words Nearby saponite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use saponite in a sentence

  • It is built of blue-grey saponite, a local stone easy to work, varied with marble from the island of Almenningen.

British Dictionary definitions for saponite

saponite

/ (ˈsæpəˌnaɪt) /


noun
  1. a clay mineral consisting of hydrated magnesium aluminium silicate and occurring in metamorphic rocks such as serpentine

Origin of saponite

1
C19: from Swedish saponit (a rendering of German Seifenstein soapstone), from Latin sāpō soap

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