ZEOLITE

zeolite

(noun) any of a family of glassy minerals analogous to feldspar containing hydrated aluminum silicates of calcium or sodium or potassium; formed in cavities in lava flows and in plutonic rocks

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

zeolite (countable and uncountable, plural zeolites)

(mineral) Any of several minerals, aluminosilicates of sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium, that have a porous structure; they are used in water softeners and in ion exchange chromatography.

Source: Wiktionary

Ze"o*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite: cf. F. zéolithe.] (Min.)

Definition: A term now used to designate any one of a family of minerals, hydrous silicates of alumina, with lime, soda, potash, or rarely baryta. Here are included natrolite, stilbite, analcime, chabazite, thomsonite, heulandite, and others. These species occur of secondary origin in the cavities of amygdaloid, basalt, and lava, also, less frequently, in granite and gneiss. So called because many of these species intumesce before the blowpipe. Needle zeolite, needlestone; natrolite.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition