English Explanatory Dictionary

coccolith

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A microscopic skeletal plate of calcite on the surface of certain marine phytoplankton; it forms chalk and limestone when fossilized
noun
  1. Alternative form of coccolite (“diopside”).

Word forms

coccolith coccoliths

Etymology

Derived from coccolithophore. By surface analysis, Ancient Greek κόκκος (kókkos, “grain, seed”) + Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos, “stone”), due to the shape of the organism's exoskeleton.

Derived words

coccolithic coccolithogenesis heterococcolith holococcolith
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