Meaning
A spherical granule of which oolite is composed, formed by concentric accretion of thin layers of a mineral (usually calcium carbonate (limestone) but also others such as dolomite and silica) around a core; an ooid.
Etymology
Origin: Latin
Borrowed from Late Latin oolithus; the Latin word was coined by the German doctor and mineralogist Franz Ernst Brückmann (1697–1753) as a translation of German Rogenstein (“oolite”) (Rogen (“fish roe”) + Stein (“stone”)). Oolithus is derived from Ancient Greek ᾠόν (ōión, “egg; seed”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”), in the sense of a bird being clothed in feathers) + λῐ́θος (lĭ́thos, “a stone; stone as a substance”) (see further at that entry), analysable as oo- + -lith.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
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 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.