Earth & SkyGreek → English
Pyrite
/ˈpaɪraɪt/noun
A brassy yellow iron sulphide mineral that forms hard cubic crystals.
The Greek roots
πῦρ
pŷr
fire
πυρίτης
pyrítēs
of fire, firestone
Literally: “fire stone”
The story of the word
πυρίτης λίθος meant the stone of fire, and that was a job description: strike a lump against steel and it throws sparks, which is how it was carried in tinderboxes for centuries. Fool's gold is a much later nickname, earned in earnest during the 1849 rush. The same πῦρ burns in pyre, pyromania and antipyretic.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
pyrepyromaniapyrotechnicsantipyreticempyrean
In a sentence
A cube of pyrite sat on the windowsill, sharp-edged enough to look machined.
The assay came back worthless, which surprised nobody who had seen the pyrite in the tailings.