Word origin
[1350–1400; ME
ophites ‹ L
ophītēs serpentine stone ‹ Gk
ophi᷄tēs (
líthos) serpentine (stone), equiv. to
óph(
is) serpent +
-i᷄tēs -ite1]This word is first recorded in the period 1350–1400. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: index, negative, register, train, tune-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)