| Library / English Dictionary |
APATITE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A common complex mineral consisting of calcium fluoride phosphate or calcium chloride phosphate; a source of phosphorus
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("apatite" is a kind of...):
mineral (solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition)
Meronyms (substance of "apatite"):
atomic number 15; P; phosphorus (a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms)
atomic number 65; Tb; terbium (a metallic element of the rare earth group; used in lasers; occurs in apatite and monazite and xenotime and ytterbite)
atomic number 69; thulium; Tm (a soft silvery metallic element of the rare earth group; isotope 170 emits X-rays and is used in small portable X-ray machines; it occurs in monazite and apatite and xenotime)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "apatite"):
fluorapatite (a form of apatite in which fluorine predominates over chlorine)
