HotForWords » Cummingtonight http://hotforwords.com Marina Orlova - Not your typical philologist. Etymology, philology, word origins, origin of, hot teacher. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:55:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Nerd Word of the Day: Cummingtonite http://hotforwords.com/2009/06/21/nerd-word-of-the-day-cummingtonight/ http://hotforwords.com/2009/06/21/nerd-word-of-the-day-cummingtonight/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:05:14 +0000 HotForWords http://www.hotforwords.com/?p=5007 cummingtonight

Cummingtonite: (′kÉ™m ·iÅ‹ ·tə′nÄ«t) A basic silicate of magnesium and ferrous iron,
(Mg, Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2,

that is an amphibole mineral similar to anthophyllite but monoclinic and with more iron, and that occurs as fibres and lamellae in metamorphic rocks.

This mineral was found by Dr. J. Porter in a town called Cummington, Massachusetts. He named the mineral after the town, adding the -ite suffix to signify that it’s a mineral.

I saw this word in a post on Digg that was titled:  She Will Definitely Be Cummingtonite. I don’t get the joke.. how can a woman be a mineral?  Hmmm…

]]> http://hotforwords.com/2009/06/21/nerd-word-of-the-day-cummingtonight/feed/ 66