Pyritizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Turning organic matter or a fossil into iron sulfide mineral by replacing its original substance with pyrite
2. Filling or replacing the tissue of a plant, animal or object with the iron sulfide mineral known as fool's gold
3. Infiltrating a material so that its structure becomes composed of the brassy iron disulfide mineral pyrite

Etymology: "Pyritizing" is the present participle of a verb built on "pyrite," the mineral name, plus the suffix "-ize." The mineral's own name comes from Ancient Greek "pûr," meaning fire, via the agent-forming suffix "-ītēs," so the word for a stone that could strike fire ("pŭrītēs") passed through Latin "pȳrites" and Old French "pyrite" into English. Pyrite was prized for sparking flint-like flames and was later used in striking tools, which is why its name is so tied to fire. The verb itself is a much more modern coinage. "Pyritize" is formed in English from "pyrite" with "-ize," a suffix that came into English through Late Latin "-izō" and Greek "-ízō" and is used to turn nouns into verbs meaning to make, treat with, or convert into something. In the case of "pyritizing," the sense is of a material being replaced or impregnated with pyrite, as happens when iron sulfide minerals form within fossils or other organic remains.