siderite

American  

[sid-uh-rahyt] / ˈsɪd əˌraɪt /

noun

1. Also called chalybite. a common mineral, iron carbonate, FeCO 3 , usually occurring in yellowish to deep-brown cleavable masses: a minor ore of iron.

2. a meteorite consisting almost entirely of metallic minerals.

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siderite British  

/ ˈsaɪdəˌraɪt /

noun

1. Also called: chalybite. a pale yellow to brownish-black mineral consisting chiefly of iron carbonate in hexagonal crystalline form. It occurs mainly in ore veins and sedimentary rocks and is an important source of iron. Formula: FeCO 3

2. a meteorite consisting principally of metallic iron

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Other Word Forms

• sideritic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of siderite

1570–80, in sense “loadstone”; 1845–50 siderite for def. 1; sider- + -ite ¹; in obsolete sense, variant of siderites < Latin sidērītēs < Greek sidērī́tēs loadstone

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

siderite

The entrance is flanked by large chunks of ironstone, or siderite, and features crushed brick paving, a reference to the brickyard that operated there for much of the 20th century.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2009

Sometimes, as in the Rowton siderite, the whole object consists of little else; sometimes this alloy is in grains distributed through the mass.

From The Story of the Heavens by Sir Robert S. (Robert Stawell) Ball

Their principal iron mineral is hematite, although the English ores also contain considerable iron carbonate or siderite.

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

This siderite is specially interesting on account of its distinctly metallic character.

From The Story of the Heavens by Sir Robert S. (Robert Stawell) Ball

Some of these objects are composed of very characteristic materials; take, for example, one of the more recent arrivals, known as the Rowton siderite.

From The Story of the Heavens by Sir Robert S. (Robert Stawell) Ball

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