novaculite

noun

no·​vac·​u·​lite nō-ˈva-kyə-ˌlīt 

: a very hard fine-grained siliceous rock used for whetstones and possibly of sedimentary origin

Examples of novaculite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Quapaw and Caddo peoples lived here for thousands of years, mining the region’s ubiquitous novaculite, a type of flint stone, for weapons. —Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2020

Native Americans dug systematically for Arkansas novaculite, a silica-rich mineral used for arrowheads some 10,000 years ago. —Leeaundra Keany, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2010

Word History

Etymology

Latin novāculum "razor" (from novā- —going back to earlier *ksneu̯ā- "scrape smooth, sharpen"— + -culum, instrumental suffix, going back to *-tlom) + -ite entry 1; *ksneu̯ā-, probably derivative of an Indo-European adjective *ksneu̯͟-o- "scraped smooth," from a verbal base *ksneu̯- "scrape (until sharp or smooth)" (whence, with ablaut variation, Sanskrit kṣṇáuti "(s/he) whets, sharpens," kṣṇutáḥ "sharpened," kṣṇótram "whetstone," Avestan hu-xšnutō "well-sharpened"), iterative derivative of *kseu̯-, whence Greek xýō, xeîn "to shave, smooth"

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for novaculite

• actinolite
• adipocyte
• amphibolite
• anorthosite
• anthophyllite
• aragonite
• carbonatite
• cassiterite
• cristobalite
• crocidolite
• diatomite
• dithionite