steatite

See also: stéatite

English

Etymology

From Latin steatītis, from Ancient Greek. By surface analysis, steat- (“fat”) +‎ -ite (“stone”).

Noun

steatite (countable and uncountable, plural steatites)

(mineralogy) soapstone (often synonymous; more information at soapstone § Terminology).
- 1876, "Burmah" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 556:
  Though a certain kind of paper is manufactured from bamboo pulp, the usual material of the books is the palm leaf, while for ordinary notebook purposes a kind of black tablet, called a parabeik, and a steatite pencil are employed.

Related terms

English terms prefixed with steato-

Translations

soapstone — see also soapstone

French: stéatite (fr) f
German: Steatit

Further reading

steatite on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Steatite”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
“steatite”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.

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