Appendix VII. Vocabulary word origins and mineral names
Many scientific and technical terms we use in the textbook come from Greek or Latin terms. Often these prefixes (which appear at the start of words) or suffixes (which appear at the end of words) are not very intuitive to learn. If you learn some of these terms, you may find it easier to learn scientific vocabulary. Even if you don’t know some vocabulary words on an exam, if you notice that the word contains a prefix you know, maybe you can work out its meaning or at least take a better guess at the answer to the question! I’ve provided examples for each Greek or Latin prefix and suffix in the tables below.
In addition to the prefixes and suffixes in the tables, there are other chemical prefixes and suffixes that may help you when learning mineral names. Note that not all minerals are named for their chemistry, many are named for famous people and mineralogists or for the places where they were first identified (localities). Students often ask me for an easy and consistent way to remember mineral names – sorry, there is no easy answer to that question! I have provided a list of mineral names and their name origins in this appendix.
Greek prefixes and suffixes
Common prefixes are indicated by a “-” following the Greek term, and suffixes are indicated with a “-” preceding the term. Some terms can appear as either prefixes or suffixes in scientific words, this is indicated with a “-” on either side of the term.
| prefix or suffix |
meaning | examples |
| an-, a- | not | anhedral, aphanitic, anion |
| poly- | much/many | polyhedral, polymorph |
| eu- | good, well | euhedral |
| -morph- | shape | polymorph, morphological |
| -hedral, -hedron | having a number of sides | polyhedral, dodecahedron |
| phaner- | visible | phaneritic |
| geo- | related to the Earth | geology, geocentric |
| -lith- | stone | lithology, lithosphere, batholith, megalith |
| -logy | study of, science of | geology |
| iso- | equal | isotope, isostatic |
| pan- | all | Pangaea, panorama |
| meso- | middle | Mesozoic |
| palaeo-, paleo- | old, ancient | Palaeozoic, Palaeontology, paleomagnetism |
| anthro- | human | Anthropocene, anthropogenic |
| -oid | like, resembling | mineraloid |
| hydro- | of water | hydrogen, hydrology, hydroxide, hydroxyl |
| -ox- | sharp, containing oxygen | oxygen, oxide, hydroxyl |
| chalc- | containing copper | chalcopyrite |
| Sources: compiled by Joyce M. McBeth (2019) CC-BY 4.0. Etymology – mindat.org, wiktionary.org, and www.lexico.com. | ||
Latin prefixes and suffixes
| prefix or suffix |
meaning | examples |
| ex- | out of, from, beyond | exogenous, example, expert, expand, exoplanet |
| re- | again, back | redo, reflect |
| homo- | the same | homogeneous |
| hetero- | different | heterogeneous |
| terr- | earth, land | terrestrial, territory |
| strat- | cover, level | stratigraphy, strata, stratosphere |
| sub- | under, below, beneath | subduct, submarine, substitute |
| cat- | down, against, back | cation, catalogue |
| de- | remove, separate | deform, deconstruct |
| sulf-, sulph- | containing sulfur | sulfate, sulfide |
| Sources: compiled by Joyce M. McBeth (2019) CC-BY 4.0. Etymology – mindat.org, wiktionary.org, and www.lexico.com. | ||
Other prefixes and suffixes
The following prefixes and suffixes are not derived from Latin or Greek roots, and are also found in scientific terminology.
| prefix or suffix |
meaning | examples |
| neu- | un-, non-, dis- | neutron, neutral |
| Sources: compiled by Joyce M. McBeth (2019) CC-BY 4.0. Etymology – mindat.org, wiktionary.org, and www.lexico.com. | ||
Mineral name origins
Here are some links to webpages that may help you with learning mineral names:
- Wikibooks.org General Chemistry/Naming Substances, and
- the mindat.org database contains stunning photos of minerals and information on how they were named.
The table below presents name origin information for minerals mentioned in the textbook, and a few additional interesting minerals. I have added in a few mnemonics/characteristics to help you remember the minerals and their names. If you think of more mnemonics, or better ones – let me know and I will add them to the table (and give you credit!)
| Mineral |
Name origin (language) | meaning | Mnemonic/facts |
| Sulfate minerals | |||
| gypsum | gypsos (Greek) | plaster | gyprock (plasterboard) is made of gypsum |
| anhydrite | anhydros (Greek) | without water | like gypsum, but it isn’t hydrated like gypsum |
| barite | barus (Greek) | heavy | barium is heavy. It is used in the oilfield to make drilling fluid heavier, and in medicine for gut imaging procedures. |
| celestite | cœlestis (Greek) | celestial | |
| Oxide minerals | |||
| hematite | aematitis lithos (Greek) | blood stone | colour is a reddish brown, like dried blood (heme) |
| magnetite | Magnesia, Greece | named for mineral locality | Magnetite is magnetic |
| corundum | kuruvinda (Sanskrit) | ruby | |
| Hydroxide minerals | |||
| limonite | leimṓn (Greek) | meadow | it is a yellowy-brown colour, sort of like rotton lemons |
| bauxite | Baux (or Beaux) (France) | named for a locality | |
| Sulfide minerals | |||
| galena | galene (Greek) | lead ore | heavy because it contains lead, and generally forms many shiny, metallic cubes |
| sphalerite | sphaleros (Greek) | treacherous | sphalerite as a resinous luster, somewhat like amber, it is also often sub-metallic (and often in the same specimen) |
| chalcopyrite | chalkos, pyrites (Greek) | copper, strike fire | |
| molybdenite | mólubdos (Greek) | lead (note: molybdenite doesn’t contain lead!) | moly lubricant is made from molybdenum, and molybdenite is also soft |
| pyrite | pyr (Greek) | fire | gold in colour, like a yellow fire |
| bornite | Ignaz von Born (German) | named for a person | iridescent blue, like it is “born again” |
| arsenopyrite | arsenikón, pyrites (Greek) | pyrite containing arsenic | |
| stibnite | stibi (Greek) | antimony | |
| cinnabar | zinjifrah (Persian) | lost | cinnamon candies are red like cinnabar |
| Halide minerals | |||
| cryolite | krúos, líthos (Greek) | ice-stone | |
| fluorite | fluere (Latin) | to flow | the colour of fluorite is often green, like a mountain stream, flowing, fluo |
| halite | háls (Greek) | sea | the sea is salty, halite forms when you dry out seawater |
| sylvite | sal digestibus Sylvii, François Sylvius de le Boe (Nederlands) | salts of Sylvius, named for a person | Sylvia Fedoruk was from Saskatchewan, and sylvite is our provincial mineral |
| Carbonate minerals | |||
| calcite | calx (Latin) | lime | |
| aragonite | Molina de Aragón (Spain) | named for locality | |
| magnesite | Magnesia (Greek) | contains magnesium (which is named for a locality) | |
| dolomite | Déodat (Dieudonné) Guy Silvain Tancrède Gratet de Dolomieu (French) | named for person | |
| siderite | sideros (Greek) | iron | brownish colour like many iron minerals |
| malachite | molochitus (Greek) | mallows | brilliant green colour, like a copper roof that has tarnished |
| azurite | lazhward (Persian) | blue | azure, like a dark blue sky |
| Phosphate minerals | |||
| apatite | apatáō (Greek) | deceptive | |
| hydroxyapatite | apatao, hydro- (Greek) | deceptive, water-rich | our teeth are made of this mineral |
| turquoise | turques (French) | turkish | bright blue with black veins running through it, used in jewellery |
| Silicate minerals | |||
| isolated tetrahedra minerals | |||
| olivine | ŏlīva (greek) | olive fruit | it is an olive-green colour, and the gem version is called peridotite |
| garnet | granatum (Latin) | pomegranate | colour is reminiscent of pomegranate, and garnet sounds like pomegranate. |
| chain silicate minerals | |||
| single-chain silicate | |||
| pyroxene | pyr, xénos (Greek) | fire, stranger | difficult to identify! A dark mineral, found in mafic rocks |
| double-chain silicate | |||
| amphibole | amphibolos (Greek) | ambiguous | hornblende is a common amphibole mineral, amphiboles are dark minerals |
| sheet silicate | |||
| mica | micare (Latin) | to flash, or glisten | |
| biotite | Jean-Baptiste Biot (France) | named for a person | brown, forms large and very flat crystals |
| muscovite | Muscovia (Latin) | Moscow | clear, forms large and very flat crystals, almost like a window (and it was used that way historically) |
| kaolinite | Kaoling (Gaoling) (China) | named for a locality | |
| illite | Illinois (French, from Miami-Illinois Indigenous language) | named for locality | |
| smectite | smēktis (Greek) | fuller earth | smectite clays swell (hence “fuller earth”) |
| talc | talq (Arabic) | pure | talc is a pure white colour |
| framework silicate | |||
| feldspar | Feldspat (German) | field spar | |
| plagioclase | plágios, klásis (Greek) | oblique, breaking fracture | |
| labradorite | Labrador (Canada) | named for locality | irridescent blue feldspar crystals in a darker background, often used in jewellery, countertops, or building facades |
| albite | albus (Latin) | white | Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter has white hair |
| anothite | an, orthos (Greek) | not right angle, oblique | |
| orthoclase | orthos (Greek) | right | |
| microcline | mīkrós, klínein (Greek) | little, incline | |
| sanidine | sanis, idos (Greek) | little plate, to see | |
| quartz | querz (German; the etymology is complicated!) | quartz | clear quartz is very common, often a main mineral in sand because it is very hard |
| amethyst | a-methystos (Greek) | not drunk | forms purple crystals, often found in geodes |
| citrine | citrina (Latin) | colour as yellow as citron | yellow like a lemon |
| Native element minerals | |||
| gold | gold (Old English) | yellow | commonly used for wedding rings and other jewellery |
| copper | kyprios (Greek) | of Cyprus | commonly used in electrical wiring, and in some jewellery |
| silver | seolfor (Old English) | [meaning unknown/lost] | commonly used in earrings, rings, and other jewellery, a shiny grey colour. |
| graphite | graphein (Greek) | to write | pencil leads contain graphite, and you can make graphs with them |
| diamond | adamas (Greek) | invincible | very hard (but brittle!), used in jewellery especially diamond engagement rings |
| sulfur / sulphur | sulpur (Latin) | sulfur | yellow, often powdery |
| platinum | platina (Spanish) | silver (diminutive) | |
| palladium | Pallas (Latin) | named for an asteroid | |
| mercury | Mercurius (Latin) | Roman messenger to the gods | liquid metal at room temperatures, used to be used commonly in thermometers |
| Mineraloids | |||
| opal | possibly upala (Sanskrit); or opalus (Latin) | stone, precious stone; opal | gem quality opal has shiny irridescence in a white or black matrix |
| Metamorphic minerals | |||
| kyanite | kyanos (Greek) | blue | long blue crystals |
| sillimanite | Benjamin Silliman, Sr. (USA) | named for person | fine grained white granualar |
| andalusite | Andalusia region (Spain) | named for locality | |
| garnet | granatum (Latin) | pomegranate | colour is reminiscent of pomegranate, and garnet sounds like pomegranate. |
| chlorite | khlōritis (Greek) | green precious stone | chlorine gas is yellow-green, chlorite is a yellow-green mica |
| amphibole | amphibolos (Greek) | ambiguous | |
| serpentine | serpens (Latin) | snake | serpentine is a mottled green colour like a snake |
| biotite | Jean-Baptiste Biot (France) | named for a person | brown, forms large and very flat crystals |
| muscovite | Muscovia (Latin) | Moscow | clear, forms large and very flat crystals, almost like a window (and it was used that way historically) |
| glaucophane | glaukos, phainestai (Greek) | sky-blue, to appear | a blue mica |
| Other minerals (not presently in minerals chapter of textbook) |
|||
| forsterite | Adolarius Jacob Forster (German) | named for person | dark green, like a forest |
| fayalite | Faial Island (Fayal Island) (Portuguese) | named for locality | |
| goethite | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German) | named for person | iron oxide mineral, colour variable, often black, brown, reddish. |
| spinel | spinella (Latin) | little thorn | |
| millerite | William Hallowes Miller (Wales) | named for person | forms needle-like crystals |
| melanterite | melantria (Greek) | ferrous sulfate | |
| topaz | Topasos Island (Egypt) | named for a locality | |
| beryl | beryllos (Greek, possibly) | blue-green stone | |
| borax | bauraq (Arabic) | white | |
| Sources: compiled by Joyce M. McBeth (2019) CC-BY 4.0. Etymology – mindat.org, wiktionary.org, and www.lexico.com. | |||
