anatase

noun

an·​a·​tase ˈa-nə-ˌtās 

-ˌtāz

: a tetragonal mineral consisting of titanium dioxide and used especially as a white pigment

Examples of anatase in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Titanium oxide is rare on Earth, found in minerals such as rutile, anatase, and brookite. —Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 13 Sep. 2017

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, borrowed from Greek anátasis "extension upward, height," action noun derivative (with -sis -sis) from anateínein "to stretch out, lift up, extend," from ana- ana- + teínein "to stretch, extend" — more at tenant entry 1

Note: The term was introduced by the French mineralogist René Just Haüy (1743-1822) in Traité de Minéralogie, tome 3 (Paris, 1801), p. 129. The name alludes to the steep angle of the crystal's pyramid relative to other minerals.

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above