teratolite Min.
(ˈtɛrətəʊlaɪt)
Also erron. terratolite (Cent. Dict.).
[ad. Ger. teratolith (Glocker, 1839), f. Gr. τέρας, τερατ- marvel, prodigy + λίθος stone (see -lite), in allusion to the earlier names Saxonische wundererde and terra miraculosa Saxoniæ (C. Richter, 1732), due to its supposed sovereign virtues.]
An impure clay-like hydrous silicate of aluminium, allied to pholerite.
| 1868 Dana Min. 473 A. Knop holds (Jahrb. Min. 1859, 546) that the teratolite is an impure lithomarge-like pholerite. |