Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The coiled, flat, chambered fossil shell of an extinct cephalopod mollusk that was abundant in the Cretaceous Period.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One of the fossil shells of an extensive genus (Ammonites) of extinct cephalopodous mollusks (cuttle-fishes), of the family Ammonitidæ, coiled in a plane spiral, and chambered within like the shell of the existing nautilus, to which the ammonites were allied. These shells have a nacreous lining and a porcelanous layer externally, and are smooth or rugose, the ridges straight, crooked, or undulated, and in some cases armed with projecting spines or tubercles. The species already described number about 500, and range from the Lias to the Chalk formations, inclusive. They vary in size from mere specks to 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Also written
hammonite . Sometimes called snakestone, ammon-stone, and formerlycornu Ammonia (Ammon's horn). - n. A name applied to certain explosive materials, patented by Favier, containing ammonium nitrate with other substances, chiefly nitro- or dinitro-naphthalene.
Wiktionary
- n. An explosive prepared from ammonium nitrate; amatol
- n. Any of an extinct group of cephalopods of the subfamily Ammonoidea; a fossil shell of such an animal
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Paleon.) A fossil cephalopod shell related to the nautilus. There are many genera and species, and all are extinct, the typical forms having existed only in the Mesozoic age, when they were exceedingly numerous. They differ from the nautili in having the margins of the septa very much lobed or plaited, and the siphuncle dorsal. Also called
serpent stone ,snake stone , andcornu Ammonis .
WordNet 3.0
- n. one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of extinct mollusks
Etymologies
- French ammonite, from Latin ammonis (cornua) "(horns of) Ammon". (Wiktionary)
- New Latin Ammōnītēs, from Latin (cornū) Ammōnis, (horn) of Amen, ammonite, genitive of Ammōn, Amen, from Greek. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The closest living relative of the ammonite is the chambered nautilus.”
“At one key point in the book, a man picks up an ammonite, the shell of an ancient mollusk, and marvels at its weight in comparison with the dress pocket he has pulled it from; at another, a young mother stumbles upon a valuable painting hidden behind a dressing table.”
Advance reader reviews of The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell.
“There are portraits and the wax seal, made from an ammonite, of the Very Reverend Dr. William Buckland, Dean of Westminster 1784-1856, a geologist who gave the first full description of a dinosaur, but who is better known for his stated ambition to eat a member of every living species of animal.”
The Wall Street Journal: Welcome to the Museum Of Weird and Wonderful
“She was still on a public footpath, for she had obediently followed signs, some marked with a white ammonite and some with the yellow traditional lettering carved into wood.”
“One contained an ammonite, a fossilized nautilus shell.”
“Then he lifted its head, wheeled it about by the ammonite, spirograph shells of its horns till its eyes, on stalks, looked back at its bones.”
“There's a point on the Corkscrew where for a split-second you can look ahead and to the side and get a cool view straight through the ammonite-spiral of the double loop.”
“Next time you pick up a leaflet about Mr Wood's Fossils the main image will be my photo of a rather wonderful ammonite lagerstätte.”
“Upper Kimmeridgian ammonite faunas of the Wash area and a subzonal scheme for the lower part of the Upper Kimmeridgian.”
“The standing totem with ammonite head attachments that extend like an exaggerated chignon is a universal female spirit fashioned by an acclaimed California artist who also happens to be a friend.”
The Virgin dialogue - an excerpt from the book: Agave Marias
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ammonite’.
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Visuals
A list of words which yield surprising, beautiful, amusing, or otherwise noteworthy images here on Wordnik.
photochrom, fufluns, thank you, cool l..., postcard, picture postcard, cricket, physiological ill..., Gakuryū Ishii, ametropia, One Froggy Evening, rhodopsin, Santiago Calatrava and 636 more...
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molluscs
very comprehensive list
of molluscs,who does not like
calamari? hmm yum
molluscigerous
100,000 species just in molluscsabalone, ammonite, argonaut, ataata, belon, bivalve, blackhead, bluepoint, brachiopod, buckie, byssal, byssus and 271 more...
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MaRgInS
mArG(a)iNs
bipectinated, gutter, bifid, involute, hives, capybara, crenation, fragrant agrimony, runcinate, ragged, tharos, fringed pink and 20 more...
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What's That Pokémon Name?
Words used to create the names of Pokémon, which are usually portmanteaux.
bulb, dinosaur, ivy, venus, char, salamander, squirt, turtle, blast, tortoise, water, caterpillar and 525 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, A
abaculus, abacus, abaft, abarticular, abbreviate, abeyance, abiding, anthocyanin, antemeridian, arcane, adjure, adduce and 418 more...
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wanderstar's Words
superlative, mulish, mumps, catatonic, aquiline, clandestine, phantasmagoria, chryselephantine, microfiche, mutineer, reprobate, ruthless and 312 more...
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old faves
ones I already liked
vacuole, organelle, debauchle, voluptuous, spry, cattywampus, obscure, occlude, occult, celtic, voracious, ardently and 133 more...
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justin's Words
braii, boerewors, lekker, viva, pap, lipodystrophy, lacticacidosis, sharp, chakalaka, defaulter, eish, oof and 256 more...
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Not Dinosaurs
A temporary place to store all those annoying prehistoric animals that refuse to correlate to my manner of (dis)organization. Gah!
See also "Words of Dinosaurology," "Dinosaurs," "Pter...deltasaurus, champsosaur, discosauriscus, diplocaulus, dunkleosteus, dimetrodon, dragonfly, echinoderm, edaphosaurus, eosuchian, eotitanosuchid, equisetum and 185 more...
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The word collector
My collection of words that are intriguing, but don't fit my other lists.
snailery, aplasia, postulant, aigrette, caravel, frigate, capeskin, suffusion, schist, varlet, sepulchral, anisotropy and 317 more...
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persnickety parlance
behoove, ebullient, insouciant, insipient, froth, quandary, quixotic, tendril, maktub, furrow, furl, anastrophe and 1076 more...
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Mollusks
"Snaily, clammy, squidy" has evolved into a vehicle for linking to mollusk quotations, so I've started this list for vernacular names of mollusks.
clam, snail, slug, squid, octopus, nautilus, conch, chank, whelk, mussel, oyster, scallop and 221 more...
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gorgonglare's list
the best
zeppelin, ion, laconic, serendipity, cataract, saturnine, syzygy, cinnabar, bistro, lithium, paroxysm, scion and 694 more...
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melcarroll's list
Magpies
mellifluous, obtuse, ephemeral, translucent, anchorite, limerence, ephemeroptera, eclectic, saturniid, luminescent, incandescent, irridescent and 39 more...
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Bachelard: The Poetics of Space
words I looked up while reading
panegyrics, topophilia, lares, oneirism, klaxoning, vaunted, presage, proferred, bugling, dovetailing, russet, diaphanous and 25 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ammonite.
sionnach But which is more exciting ammonite or cummingtonite? Mar 3, 2009
chained_bear So did I. Apparently this particular biblical tribe featured coiled chambered shells. Aug 29, 2008
mollusque I thought the Ammonites were a biblical tribe. :-) Aug 29, 2008
chained_bear Look! I found one of mollusque's ancient ancestors! Aug 28, 2008