METEORITE

meteorite

(noun) stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth’s surface

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

meteorite (plural meteorites)

A metallic or stony object or body that is the remains of a meteoroid.

Hyponyms

• See also meteorite

Source: Wiktionary


Me"te*or*ite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. météorite.] (Min.)

Definition: A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an aërolite.

Note: Meteorites usually show a pitted surface with a fused crust, caused by the heat developed in their rapid passage through the earth's atmosphere. A meteorite may consist: 1. Of metallic iron, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel (meteoric iron, holosiderite). When etched this usually exhibits peculiar crystalline figures, called Widmanstätten figures. 2. Of a cellular mass of iron with imbedded silicates (mesosiderite or siderolite). 3. Of a stony mass of silicates with little iron (meteoric stone, sporadosiderite). 4. Of a mass without iron (asiderite).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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