▪ I. thorite1 Min.
(ˈθɔəraɪt)
[a. Swed. thorit (Berzelius, 1828–9), f. Thor (as in thoria, thorium) + -ite1 2 b.]
Hydrous silicate of thorium, occurring crystalline, massive, and compact, orange-yellow (orangite) to brownish-black or black, with a vitreous or resinous lustre.
| 1832 [see thorium]. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1239 It [thorina] was extracted from the mineral thorite, of which it constitutes 58 per cent. 1868 Dana Min. 413 The brownish-black and black variety, from Lövö, Norway, was the mineral from which Berzelius obtained the metal thorium, and which received the name thorite. |
▪ II. thorite2
(ˈθɔəraɪt)
[f. Thor + -ite1 4.]
An explosive of the ammonium nitrate class.
| 1899 Westm. Gaz. 13 July 7/2 Thorite, a new explosive invented by Dr. Tuttle, of Tacoma,..stood severe tests... A red-hot iron was plunged into a can of thorite, but it merely ignited the particles that touched the iron. |