Came across the word "heulandite", thought it was weird so I looked it up in the dictionary and found that it means: "a group of minerals of the zeolite family consisting of a hydrous aluminum silicate of sodium and calcium." I looked up "-ite" on etymonline.com so I suspect the suffix comes from Greek meaning: "connected with or belonging to." Where does the "heuland" part come from? Is it related to "andesite" or maybe something else?
asked Feb 22, 2013 at 20:42
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named after H. Heuland, 19th-century English mineral collector– FumbleFingersCommented Feb 23, 2013 at 13:54
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1 Answer
OED gives it as named after a mineralogist (presumably the chap who first identified it):
Pronunciation: /ˈhjuːləndaɪt/
Etymology: Named 1822 after H. Heuland, an English mineralogist: see -ite suffix1.
Mineral.A mineral of the Zeolite group; a hydrated silicate of aluminium and calcium, found in crystals of various colours with pearly lustre.
In that regard, the name is related to Andesite in as much as it's named after a particular property of the mineral: in this case, who identified it; in the case of Andesite, where it is found.
answered Feb 22, 2013 at 20:56
