ammonite

¹

[ am-uh-nahyt ]

noun

1. the coiled, chambered fossil shell of an ammonoid.

ammonite

²

[ am-uh-nahyt ]

noun

1. a nitrogenous mixture consisting chiefly of dried animal fats, usually obtained from livestock carcasses, and used as a fertilizer.

Ammonite

³

[ am-uh-nahyt ]

noun

1. an inhabitant of Ammon.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Ammonites.

ammonite

¹

/ ˌæməˈnɪtɪk; ˈæməˌnaɪt /

noun

1. any extinct marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Ammonoidea, which were common in Mesozoic times and generally had a coiled partitioned shell. Their closest modern relative is the pearly nautilus
2. the shell of any of these animals, commonly occurring as a fossil

ammonite

²

/ ˈæməˌnaɪt /

noun

1. an explosive consisting mainly of ammonium nitrate with smaller amounts of other substances, such as TNT
2. a nitrogenous fertilizer made from animal wastes

ammonite

/ ăm′ə-nīt′ /

1. Any of the ammonoids belonging to the order Ammonitida and living during the Jurassic and the Cretaceous Periods. Ammonites had a thick, very ornamental chambered shell with highly defined, wavy sutures between the chambers.

Derived Forms

• ammonitic, adjective

Other Words From

• am·mo·nit·ic [am-, uh, -, nit, -ik], adjective
• am·mon·i·toid [uh, -, mon, -i-toid], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ammonite¹

1700–10; < New Latin Ammonites < Medieval Latin ( cornū ) Ammōn ( is ) (literally, horn of Ammon ) + -ītes -ite ¹; fossil so called from its resemblance to the horn of Jupiter Ammon

Origin of ammonite²

First recorded in 1600–10; ammo(nium) + nit(rat)e

Origin of ammonite³

First recorded in 1605–15; Ammon + -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ammonite¹

C18: from New Latin Ammōnītēs, from Medieval Latin cornū Ammōnis, literally: horn of Ammon

Origin of ammonite²

C20: from ammo ( nium ) + ni ( tra ) te

Example Sentences

Within tens of minutes after the asteroid impact, a seismic shockwave would have shaken the Tanis river and created a surge of water that hurled fish, ammonites, and other marine creatures ashore.

From Popular-Science

The land north of the Arnon became Amorite; but the Ammonite frontier was too well defended to be broken through.

From Project Gutenberg

Ammonite: Favier type; ammonium nitrate 75, dinitronaphthalene or other nitro-body, salt 20.

From Project Gutenberg

Ramshorn, ramz′horn, n. a semicircular work of low profile in the ditch of a fortified place: an ammonite: a fossil cephalopod.

From Project Gutenberg

It has been divided on the coast into four distinct zones, each characterised by its own particular species of ammonite.

From Project Gutenberg

There was Mr. H. of the Linnean Society, whose waxed moustache curled round upon itself like an ammonite.

From Project Gutenberg