chalcopyrite Min.
(ˌkælkəʊˈpaɪraɪt)
[ad. mod.L. chalcopyrites (in Henckel 1725), f. chalco- + pyrite: probably the χαλκῖτις of Aristotle, and included under the πυρῖτις of Dioscorides, chalcitis and pyrites (in part) of Pliny, pyrites ærosus, aureo colore, flavus, of early mineralogists.]
An important ore of copper, called yellow or copper pyrites, native sulphide of copper and iron.
| 1835 Shepard Min. 123 Chalkopyrite. 1862 Dana Man. Geol. §30. 64 Chalcopyrite resembles iron pyrites, but is of a deeper yellow color, much softer, being scratched with a knife. 1869 Phillips Vesuv. x. 278 Chalcopyrite..found in ejected blocks. |