selenite

/ˈsɛlɪnaɪt/

selenite noun: a soft, glassy form of gypsum (chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O).

Image: U.S. Geological Survry, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

selenite (countable and uncountable, plural selenites)

A soft, glassy form of gypsum (chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O).
- I followed them to my study, and found lying on my writing-table still, with the selenite paper-weight upon it, the sheet of work I had left on the afternoon of the opening of the cylinder.1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 295
- Glass windows replaced the old tiny windows of selenite (crystallized gypsum), and stovepipe replaced adobe chimneys.1994, Stewart Brand, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built, New York: Viking, →ISBN, page 146
Synonyms:

satin spar
The anion SeO₃²⁻ derived from selenous acid; any salt or ester of selenous acid.

Noun (2) capitalized: Selenite

Selenite (plural Selenites)

Synonym of Lunarian (“inhabitant of the Moon”).
- My first impression was of some clumsy quadruped with lowered head. Then I perceived it was the slender pinched body and short and extremely attenuated bandy legs of a Selenite, with his head depressed between his shoulders.1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Selenite’s Face”, in The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, →OCLC, page 136
Synonyms:

Lunarian

Adjective capitalized: Selenite

Selenite (not comparable)

Pertaining to the inhabitants of Luna (Lunarians/Selenites).
- a Selenite colony
- "Come, Diana [a dog]," said he; "come, my girl! thou whose destiny will be marked in the cynegetic annals; […] thou who art rushing into interplanetary space, and wilt perhaps be the Eve of all Selenite dogs! come, Diana, come here."1873, Jules Verne, “Round the Moon: A Sequel to From the Earth to the Moon. Chapter III. Their Place of Shelter.”, in Louis Mercier [i.e., Lewis Page Mercier], Eleanor E[lizabeth] King, transl., From...

selenite meaning in Tamil

selenite in Tamil

திங்கட்கோளில் வாழ்பவர், செலனைற்று, களிக்கல்

Synonyms of selenite

Forms of selenite

plural	selenites
plural	Selenites

Origin of selenite

From Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) + -ite; the chemistry sense comes via the name of the element selenium.

From Ancient Greek σεληνίτης (selēnítēs), from σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) + -ίτης (-ítēs, “belonging to”). By surface analysis, Selen(e) (“the Moon”) + -ite.

Words formed from selenite

Questions about selenite

What does selenite mean?: Selenite means a soft, glassy form of gypsum (chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O).
What is selenite in Tamil?: Selenite in Tamil is திங்கட்கோளில் வாழ்பவர், செலனைற்று, களிக்கல். See Selenite meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is selenite?: Selenite can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce selenite?: Selenite is pronounced /ˈsɛlɪnaɪt/.
What is the plural of selenite?: The plural of selenite is selenites.

Words near selenite in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: selenite (page history and authors); Selenite (page history and authors); selenite (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-selenite.wav.

Cite this entry: “selenite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/selenite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.