any of various resins of fossil origin, esp one derived from lignite
Word origin
C19: from French rétinite, from Greek rhētinē resin + -ite1
retinite in American English
(ˈretnˌait)
noun
Mineralogy
any of various fossil resins, esp. one derived from brown coal
Word origin
[1815–25; ‹ F rétinite, equiv. to rétin- (comb. form of Gk rhēti᷇nēresin) + -ite-ite1]This word is first recorded in the period 1815–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: aesthetic, coupon, heuristic, pullout, welterweight-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)