A mineral or crystalline compound containing seven atoms or groups, often used in chemistry to classify specific crystal structures.
From Greek 'hepta' meaning seven combined with the mineral suffix '-ite'. The term emerged in 19th-century mineralogy as scientists classified compounds by their elemental composition.
Mineralogists loved using Greek numbers as prefixes to organize the chaos of newly discovered rocks—heptite is one of dozens of '-ite' minerals that helped chemists understand that crystals have hidden mathematical patterns.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.