Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A brass-colored mineral, FeS2, occurring widely and used as an iron ore and in producing sulfur dioxide for sulfuric acid.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Native iron disulphid (FeS2), a very common mineral, occurring in isometric crystals, cubes, octahedrons, pyritohedrons, etc., and also, and more often, massive.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Min.) A common mineral of a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, crystallizing in the isometric system; iron pyrites; iron disulphide.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mineralogy The common mineral iron disulfide (FeS2), of a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, crystallizing in the isometric system.
  • noun Any metallic-looking sulphide, such as the above, which is the most common.
  • noun solid state chemistry (usually as a plural: pyrites) Any metal dichalcogenide that is isostructural to the common mineral.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a common mineral (iron disulfide) that has a pale yellow color

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English perides, pirite, from Old French pirite, from Latin pyrītēs, flint; see pyrites.]

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Examples

  • Dr. HENNIGH: The fine sparkle you see is pyrite, which is fool's gold.

    Old Wyoming Mines Reopen After Gold Prices Soar 2010

  • Dr. HENNIGH: The fine sparkle you see is pyrite, which is fool's gold.

    Old Wyoming Mines Reopen After Gold Prices Soar 2010

  • The fossils are also rich in the mineral pyrite, which is the work of decomposing bacteria; again, this suggests that they were once living.

    Discover Blogs 2010

  • The process, termed pyrite oxidation, is enhanced when water moves through and over the surfaces of acid bearing rock exposed through mining activities which disturb the underlying geology.

    Mail & Guardian Online 2010

  • The process, termed pyrite oxidation, is enhanced when water moves through and over the surfaces of acid bearing rock exposed through mining activities which disturb the underlying geology.

    Guardian Online 2010

  • So instead of making efficiency gains using exotic but expensive thin-film solar cell materials like cadmium telluride, the industry will likely turn to cheap alternatives such as pyrite and copper oxide.

    New Scientist - Online News 2009

  • But many of her anecdotes about her early years in broadcasting are revealing, particularly when they suggest how much pyrite the networks served up in what some critics call “the golden age of television.”

    2009 January 22 « One-Minute Book Reviews 2009

  • We learn, for instance, that the mineral grains inside the pebble were eroded off the long-lost continent of Avalonia more than 600 million years ago, and, more recently, around 420 million years ago, tiny crystals of fool's gold pyrite settled on the ancient mud to fill in the body cavities of tiny animals whose bodies had sunk into the muck.

    Rock of Ages Brian Switek 2011

  • In January, the main line -- which starts at $115 for a pyrite bracelet adorned with a pearl and $270 for a wood beaded bracelet with a pearl and two diamond rondelles -- was picked up by two retailers.

    Theresa Bruno: The Sliced Collection Theresa Bruno 2011

  • The fish, in turn, studied me with its round, obsidian eyes, which had a gold lining to their perimeter, like pyrite.

    Fish Story 2009

Comments

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  • I thought this was called pyrites -- fool's gold.

    January 7, 2009

  • Tis pyrite indeed. No pirate joke intended.

    January 7, 2009