a colourless or white mineral consisting of barium sulphate in orthorhombic crystalline form, occurring in sedimentary rocks and with sulphide ores: a source of barium. Formula: BaSO4
Also called: (esp US and Canadian) barite, heavy spar
Word origin
C18: from Greek barus heavy + -itēs-ite1
barytes in American English
(bəˈraɪtiz)
noun
barite
: also called ˈbarˌyte (ˈbærˌaɪt; )
Word origin
ModL < Gr barytēs, weight < barys, heavy: see grave1