melanite

noun

mel·a·nite ˈme-lə-ˌnīt

: a black andradite garnet

melanitic

ˌme-lə-ˈni-tik

adjective

Examples of melanite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Here are the semifinalists and finalists: COMMUNITY TRACK Finalists: Melanites, by Jennifer Pierre, designs and creates diverse toys, storybooks and games that celebrate brown boyhood. —

Nancy Dahlberg, miamiherald, 7 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'melanite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Melanit, from Greek melan-, stem of mélās "black, dark" + German -it -ite entry 1 — more at melano-

Note: Term apparently introduced by the German mineralogist Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten (1768-1810) in Göttingesches Journal der Naturwissenschaft, Band 1, Heft 2 (1798), pp. 138-40.

First Known Use

circa 1807, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of melanite was circa 1807

See more words from the same year