sperrylite

noun sper·ry·lite \ ˈsper-i-ˌlīt \

Definition of sperrylite

: a mineral consisting of an arsenide of platinum

Origin and Etymology of sperrylite

Francis Louis Sperry †1906 American chemist and metallurgist + -lite

Note: Named by American chemist and geologist Horace L. Wells (1855-1924) in "Sperrylite, a new Mineral," American Journal of Science, 3rd series, vol. 38, no. 217 (January, 1889), pp. 67-70. Sperry, born in Ohio in 1861 and at the time working as a chemist for the Canadian Copper Company in Sudbury, Ontario, procured the samples of the mineral that Wells described.

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First Known Use: 1889

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year