chlorite

¹ American  

[klawr-ahyt, klohr-] / ˈklɔr aɪt, ˈkloʊr- /

noun

1. a group of minerals, hydrous silicates of aluminum, ferrous iron, and magnesium, occurring in green platelike crystals or scales.

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chlorite ² American  

[klawr-ahyt, klohr-] / ˈklɔr aɪt, ˈkloʊr- /

noun

1. a salt of chlorous acid, as potassium chlorite, KClO 2 .

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chlorite ¹ British  

/ klɔːˈrɪtɪk, ˈklɔːraɪt /

noun

1. any of a group of green soft secondary minerals consisting of the hydrated silicates of aluminium, iron, and magnesium in monoclinic crystalline form: common in metamorphic rocks

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chlorite ² British  

/ ˈklɔːraɪt /

noun

1. any salt of chlorous acid, containing the monovalent ion ClO 2 ^–

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chlorite ¹ Scientific  

/ klôr′īt′ /

1. A salt containing the group ClO ₂.

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chlorite ² Scientific  

/ klôr′īt′ /

1. A usually green or black, flaky mineral that looks like mica. Chlorite is either monoclinic or triclinic and occurs in low-grade metamorphic rocks (rocks that have undergone little metamorphism). It often forms by the alteration of dark minerals (often rich in iron and magnesium) during metamorphism. Chemical formula: (Mg,Fe,Al) ₆ (Si,Al) ₄ O ₁₀ (OH) ₈ .

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Other Word Forms

• chloritic adjective

Etymology

Origin of chlorite¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; chlor- ¹ + -ite ¹

Origin of chlorite²

First recorded in 1850–55; chlor- ² + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

MMS is a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water which, after ingestion, became chlorine dioxide – a bleach used for industrial water treatment or textiles.

From Fox News • Apr. 25, 2021

Baldwin, 52, is importing bulk shipments of the components of MMS, sodium chlorite and citric acid, into Uganda from China.

From The Guardian • May 18, 2019

Those minimal exhaust fumes had to go through a scrubber that used sodium chlorite, sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acid, sodium sulfide, three mixers, three pumps, a lot of water, and a great big blower.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2018

Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock that exhibits a foliation called slaty cleavage that is the flat orientation of the small platy crystals of mica and chlorite forming perpendicular to the direction of stress.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Their olivine tends to become serpentinized; their augite changes to chlorite and uralite; their felspars are clouded by formation of zeolites, calcite, sericite and epidote.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3 "Destructors" to "Diameter" by Various