Meaning
A dark brown mica; it is a mixed aluminosilicate and fluoride of potassium, magnesium and iron.
Etymology
Origin: French
From Biot + -ite, named by J.F.L. Hausmann in 1847 in honour of the French physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot, who, in 1816, researched the optical properties of mica, discovering many unique properties.
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.