ammonite

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈæ.məˌnaɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #95190

Meanings

1

noun
one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of extinct mollusks

The word ammonite appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.
2

noun
Any of an extinct group of cephalopods of the subclass Ammonoidea; a fossil shell of such an animal.

1927, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados Mysteries There's more interest to my mind in a neolithic scraper than in a whole show-case-full of ammonites and belemnites.
3

noun
An explosive prepared from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate; a form of amatol, popular in Eastern Europe and China.

The word ammonite appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · one of the coiled chambered... ammonoid

2 noun · any of an extinct group of... ammonidammonoid

Word family

Forms ammonites

Etymology

From French ammonite, from Latin Ammōnis (cornū) (“horn of Ammon”), as it was called by Pliny the Elder in reference to coiling ram horns used to symbolise the Egyptian god Amun. Equivalent to Ammon + -ite.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# ammonite

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæ.məˌnaɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 95190

## Meanings
1. one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of extinct mollusks
2. Any of an extinct group of cephalopods of the subclass Ammonoidea; a fossil shell of such an animal.
3. An explosive prepared from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate; a form of amatol, popular in Eastern Europe and China.

## Examples
- The word ammonite appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.
- 1927, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados Mysteries There's more interest to my mind in a neolithic scraper than in a whole show-case-full of ammonites and belemnites.
- The word ammonite appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.

## Etymology
From French ammonite, from Latin Ammōnis (cornū) (“horn of Ammon”), as it was called by Pliny the Elder in reference to coiling ram horns used to symbolise the Egyptian god Amun. Equivalent to Ammon + -ite.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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