phytolith

P3H4Y4T1O1L1I1T1H4

noun

A small particle of silica or mineral that occurs in many plants.

OriginEnglish phyto- ← Ancient Greek φῠτόν (phŭtón) ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyéti →
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Meanings

nounphytolith (plural phytoliths)

plural phytoliths

  1. A small particle of silica or mineral that occurs in many plants.

    Environmental archaeologist Monica Ramsey, at the University of Toronto, Canada, and her colleagues studied phytoliths – microscopic silica crystals that form in plant tissues – from the site.

    2016 October 29, “Sedges, not cereals, fed first settlers”, in New Scientist, number 3097, page 15

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuHyéti
  3. Ancient Greekφῠ́ω (phŭ́ō)
  4. Ancient Greekφῠτός (phŭtós)
  5. Ancient Greekφῠτόν (phŭtón)
  6. Englishphyto-
  7. Englishphytolith

From phyto- + -lith.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch fytoliet
  • fytolietmineral particle
Finnish fytoliitti
  • fytoliittimineral particle
German Phytolith
  • Phytolithmineral particle
Greek φυτόλιθος
  • φυτόλιθος (fytólithos)mineral particle
Cite this entry
APA

phytolith. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phytolith

MLA

“phytolith.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phytolith. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phytolith,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phytolith.

Source: phytolith on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.