Definitions

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

  • noun A green, brown, or yellow mineral, Pb5(PO4)3Cl, a minor ore of lead.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Native phosphate of lead with lead chlorid.

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

  • noun (Min.) Native lead phosphate with lead chloride, occurring in bright green and brown hexagonal crystals and also massive; -- so called because a fused globule crystallizes in cooling.

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

  • noun mineralogy A yellowish-green mineral, a mixed phosphate and chloride of lead with the chemical formula Pb5(PO4)3Cl, that is sometimes mined as an ore.

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

  • noun a mineral consisting of lead chloride and phosphate; a minor source of lead

Etymologies

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

[German Pyromorphit : Greek puro-, pyro- + Greek morphē, form.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word pyromorphite.

Examples

  • For the assay of pyromorphite the following charge may be used: -- Ore, 20 grams; "soda," 25 grams; tartar, 7 grams; and fluor spar,

    A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. Cornelius Beringer 1886

  • Where lead is present as phosphate (as in the case of pyromorphite), or mixed with phosphates (as sometimes happens), carbonate of soda is a suitable flux; but the phosphate of soda which is formed makes a thick tenacious slag, which is very apt to be carried out of the pot by the escaping gas.

    A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. Cornelius Beringer 1886

  • Apatite (phosphate of lime) and pyromorphite (phosphate of lead) contain a considerable amount of it.

    A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. Cornelius Beringer 1886

  • The lead in the soil, deposited by car exhaust from the decades when gasoline contained lead or from lead-based paint residue, binds with the phosphate and transforms into pyromorphite, a crystalline mineral that will not harm anyone even if consumed.

    NYT > Home Page By FELICITY BARRINGER 2011

  • The lead in the soil, deposited by car exhaust from the decades when gasoline contained lead or from lead-based paint residue, binds with the phosphate and transforms into pyromorphite, a crystalline mineral that will not harm anyone even if consumed.

    NYT > Home Page By FELICITY BARRINGER 2011

  • The lead in the soil, deposited by car exhaust from the decades when gasoline contained lead or from lead-based paint residue, binds with the phosphate and transforms into pyromorphite, a crystalline mineral that will not harm anyone even if consumed.

    NYT > Home Page By FELICITY BARRINGER 2011

  • (cerussite), sulphate (anglesite), and phosphate (pyromorphite) of lead also occur as ores, but in much smaller quantities.

    A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. Cornelius Beringer 1886

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.