The story
From Ancient Greek σφαλερός (sphalerós, “unstable, unsteady, precarious”) + -ite; named in 1847.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
sphalerite
Today it means: A yellow, brown or black, sometimes red, green white or colorless mineral with cubic crystals, of a chemical formula (Zn,Fe)S, often containing also minor metals, such as cadmium, gallium, germanium and indium. Full definition →