Word origin
[1820–30; after Jean-Baptiste-Julien Omalius d'
Halloy (1783–1875), Belgian geologist; with
-site for
-ite1, after mineral names formed from surnames ending in
s]This word is first recorded in the period 1820–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: analogue, exogenous, karma, phonetic, takeoff-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)