bauxite
|baux-ite|
🇺🇸
/ˈbɔːk.saɪt, ˈbɔːksɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈbɔːk.saɪt/
aluminium ore
Etymology
'bauxite' originates from French, specifically the word 'bauxite', which was named after the place 'Les Baux' in Provence plus the mineral suffix '-ite'.
'bauxite' was coined in 1821 by the French geologist Pierre Berthier from the French place name 'Les Baux' (French: 'Baux') with the suffix '-ite' for minerals; it entered English usage from French with essentially the same form 'bauxite'.
Initially it referred specifically to the ore found at Les Baux, but over time it came to denote the general class of aluminum-bearing ores used as the principal source of aluminium.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a sedimentary rock and the principal ore of aluminium, consisting mainly of hydrous aluminium oxides and aluminium hydroxides; the raw material from which alumina and then aluminium are produced.
Many countries export bauxite to be refined into alumina and then smelted into aluminium.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/22 00:34