< Gr hēssōn, inferior (i.e., to real hyacinth) + -ite1
essonite in American English
(ˈesəˌnait)
noun
Mineralogy
a variety of grossularite garnet
Also called: cinnamon stone, hessonite
Word origin
[1810–20; ‹ F ‹ Gk he᷄ssōn less, inferior + -ītēs-ite1]This word is first recorded in the period 1810–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: dominance, liberalism, nihilism, rationalize, triangulation-ite is a suffix of nouns denoting esp. persons associated with a place, tribe, leader,doctrine, system, etc. (Campbellite; Israelite; laborite); minerals and fossils (ammonite; anthracite); explosives (cordite; dynamite); chemical compounds, esp. salts of acids whose names end in -ous (phosphite; sulfite); pharmaceutical and commercial products (vulcanite); a member or component of a part of the body (somite)