Etymology

coccolith

C3O1C3C3O1L1I1T1H4

Today it means: A microscopic skeletal plate of calcite on the surface of certain marine phytoplankton; it forms chalk and limestone when fossilized Full definition →

Ancient Greek κόκκος
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coccolith · noun1

Derived from coccolithophore. By surface analysis, Ancient Greek κόκκος (kókkos, “grain, seed”) + Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos, “stone”), due to the shape of the organism's exoskeleton.

coccolith · noun2

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromκόκκος“kernel”
  2. English todaycoccolith

From Ancient Greek κόκκος (kókkos, “kernel”) + -lith.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekκόκκος all →

rhodococcuscoccobacteriumcoccolitecoccolithophorecoccospheretorgoch

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.