Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A brass-colored mineral, FeS2, occurring widely and used as an iron ore and in producing sulfur dioxide for sulfuric acid. Also called fool's gold, iron pyrites.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Native iron disulphid (FeS2), a very common mineral, occurring in isometric crystals, cubes, octahedrons, pyritohedrons, etc., and also, and more often, massive. It has a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, and is very hard. It is used in large quantities in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and of sulphur. It is commonly called
iron pyrites , which term, however, also includes the related orthorhombic species marcasite, as well as the magnetic pyrites, or pyrrhotine. Comparemarcasite , 1.
Wiktionary
- n. mineralogy The common mineral iron disulfide (FeS2), of a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, crystallizing in the isometric system.
- n. Any metallic-looking sulphide, such as the above, which is the most common.
- n. solid state chemistry (usually as a plural: pyrites) Any metal dichalcogenide that is isostructural to the common mineral.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Min.) A common mineral of a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, crystallizing in the isometric system; iron pyrites; iron disulphide.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a common mineral (iron disulfide) that has a pale yellow color
Etymologies
- Middle English perides, pirite, from Old French pirite, from Latin pyrītēs, flint; see pyrites. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Dr. HENNIGH: The fine sparkle you see is pyrite, which is fool's gold.”
“The process, termed pyrite oxidation, is enhanced when water moves through and over the surfaces of acid bearing rock exposed through mining activities which disturb the underlying geology.”
“The fossils are also rich in the mineral pyrite, which is the work of decomposing bacteria; again, this suggests that they were once living.”
“So instead of making efficiency gains using exotic but expensive thin-film solar cell materials like cadmium telluride, the industry will likely turn to cheap alternatives such as pyrite and copper oxide.”
“The fish, in turn, studied me with its round, obsidian eyes, which had a gold lining to their perimeter, like pyrite.”
“But many of her anecdotes about her early years in broadcasting are revealing, particularly when they suggest how much pyrite the networks served up in what some critics call “the golden age of television.””
“We learn, for instance, that the mineral grains inside the pebble were eroded off the long-lost continent of Avalonia more than 600 million years ago, and, more recently, around 420 million years ago, tiny crystals of fool's gold pyrite settled on the ancient mud to fill in the body cavities of tiny animals whose bodies had sunk into the muck.”
“In January, the main line -- which starts at $115 for a pyrite bracelet adorned with a pearl and $270 for a wood beaded bracelet with a pearl and two diamond rondelles -- was picked up by two retailers.”
“Depictions of the Classic-era Maya court often show kings gazing raptly into mirrors, usually made from a mosaic of iron pyrite pasted onto wood, slate or other material.”
“Well, I summoned me up that demon and gave him a hunk of iron pyrite the size of a bear skull.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pyrite’.
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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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Coal Mining Terms
Coal mining has engendered fascinating subcultures in industry, labor, music, folklore, environment and energy. It has a rich vocabulary as well, and I've encountered some gorgeous mining words. I...
firedamp, scrip, bituminous, anthracite, company store, blackdamp, brattice, bug dust, tipple, whitedamp, float dust, fly ash and 136 more...
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Minerals and Mineralogy
List of minerals, elements, group names and geochemistry terms encountered in the science of mineralogy. I've chosen to avoid capital letters in most examples, though a great many mineral names hon...
galkhaite, xanthoconite, pyrostilpnite, polybasite, pyrargyrite, djurleite, digenite, covellite, chalcocite, cerargirite, acanthite, aeschynite and 2608 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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ready,aim, pyre
words with pyr or the sense of fire
pyrachanta, pyral, pyralis, pyrex, pyrexia, pyrite, pyrena, pyrene, pyrenees, pyrethroid, pyretology, pyrgom and 76 more...
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thing
apron, lard, clove, camphor, alfalfa, amber, caraway, juniper, kohl, lute, shale, glyph and 142 more...
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Morthalion's Words
supercilious, kvetch, kvass, splurge, erroneous, pugnacious, macabre, gauche, conglomerate, abyss, paraphernalia, kleptomania and 285 more...
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parody's Words
defenestrate, behemoth, floss, macchiato, glom, emu, alpaca, crocheted, ampersand, charade, conflate, salacious and 193 more...
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Clearinghouse
For stuff to simply reside.
calcar, pinion, espadrille, antipodes, peregrine, cormorant, tanager, vireo, farrago, undervest, passerine, oscine and 881 more...
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Rock. Star.
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (P)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
pagan, page, pageant, pageboy, pagoda, paisley, paladin, palfrey, paling, pampas grass, pan, panoply and 194 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, P
pellucid, pertain, pampas, prate, pinecone, philistine, pantocrator, papaverine, postmeridian, potlatch, pharology, pinniped and 622 more...
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die6die's Words
somnambulist, obfuscate, hirsute, kleptobibliomania, serendipitous, dissuade, duplicitous, zounds, lo, unleash, fortnight, thaumaturgy and 278 more...
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monovocalic trysyllable
There must be some natural English word that contains the same vowel three times. 'English' excludes Bopomofo and Rin Tin Tin; 'natural' excludes contrived things like highlight-like, unhumdrum. An...
abdabs, alate, aye-aye, backpack, bedstead, bow-wow, civic, deadhead, dojo, earthwork, earthworm, forecourt and 43 more...
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my words
words that I especially like, for whatever reason
infiltrate, confuzzle, deoxyribonucleic ..., inarticulate, literate, loquacious, incinerate, campfire, asanine, lunacy, inferior, qwerty and 67 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pyrite.

sarra Tis pyrite indeed. No pirate joke intended. Jan 7, 2009
garyth123 I thought this was called pyrites -- fool's gold. Jan 6, 2009