Etymology

aphanite

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Today it means: Certain dark igneous rocks having grain so fine that the individual crystals cannot be seen with the naked eye. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἀφανής (aphanḗs) ← Proto-Hellenic *epʰaňňómān ← Proto-Indo-European *n̥-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*ə-
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓- (ă-)
  5. Proto-Hellenic*epʰaňňómān
  6. Ancient Greekφαίνομαι (phaínomai)
  7. Ancient Greekἀφανής (aphanḗs)
  8. English todayaphanite

From Ancient Greek ἀφανής (aphanḗs, “indistinct, unseen, obscure”) + English -ite.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.