Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
tellurite

tellurite

1 9.9
A mineral or salt that has tellurium joined to oxygen
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛlʊˌraɪt/
  • Specialized
: telurita
  • Scientists analyzed the tellurite sample to determine its chemical composition.

Examples

  • The mineral tellurite is used in various industrial applications.

  • Some bacteria can reduce tellurite to elemental tellurium in laboratory experiments.

  • The mineral tellurite is a natural oxide of tellurium.

  • Scientists have discovered new properties of tellurites in recent studies.

  • The scientist explained that tellurite is a compound of tellurium with an oxidation state of +4.

  • In the lab, we synthesized tellurite by reacting tellurous acid with a suitable base.

  • Tellurite can be identified in minerals as it often occurs as a salt of tellurous acid.

Surface Forms

tellurite singular
tellurites plural

Morphology

tellurite = tellurium (semi-transparent) = tellur + ite

Formed from the element name 'tellurium' with the mineral/salt-forming suffix '-ite'; clear morphologically but the meaning is specialized technical chemical terminology.

Etymology

The word tellurite comes from the element tellurium, which is named from Latin tellus meaning 'earth'. So tellurite is an 'earth' mineral or salt that contains the element tellurium.