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

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

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

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