Luxemburgite

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A radioactive phosphate mineral typically found in uranium ore deposits, named after Luxembourg
2. A uranium-bearing phosphate mineral that occurs as a rare secondary product in oxidized zones of uranium deposits
3. A mineral composed of phosphate and uranium oxides, discovered in and named after the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Etymology: Luxemburgite is a mineral name, and its story begins with a place rather than a person. The mineral was named after Luxembourg, where it was identified, and the "-ite" ending is the standard suffix mineralogists attach to mineral names, a usage that goes back to the early nineteenth century. Its name therefore connects a rock found in the Grand Duchy with the same ending used for minerals such as "dolomite" and "malachite," which were themselves named after people or places. Because it is a technical coinage, the word has no ancient history. It was formed in modern times from a geographic name plus a scientific suffix, so the most useful fact is simply that its meaning is fixed to the locality where the material was first described. Its sense has changed very little since, since it refers to a specific mineral rather than a general idea.