Earth & SkyGreek → English
Selenite
/ˈsɛlɪnaɪt/noun
The transparent crystalline form of gypsum, splitting into clear sheets.
The Greek roots
σελήνη
selḗnē
moon
-ίτης
-ítēs
stone of
Literally: “moonstone”
The story of the word
Greek writers called it λίθος σεληνίτης, moon-stone, from the pale sheen of a cleaved sheet; some later authors claimed it waxed and waned with the moon. Before window glass was cheap, thin selenite panes glazed Roman and medieval windows and let in a milky light. The element selenium got the same goddess for a different reason: Berzelius named it as the moon to tellurium's earth.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
seleniumselenographySelene
In a sentence
Cave of the Crystals holds selenite beams eleven metres long.
She split the selenite with a fingernail and it came away in a clear sheet.