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Graphite

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graph⋅ite

[graf-ahyt]
–noun
a very common mineral, soft native carbon, occurring in black to dark-gray foliated masses, with metallic luster and greasy feel: used for pencil leads, as a lubricant, and for making crucibles and other refractories; plumbago; black lead.

Origin:
1790–1800; < G Graphit < Gk gráph(ein) to write, draw + G -it -ite 1


gra⋅phit⋅ic [gruh-fit-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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graph·ite   (grāf'īt')   
n.  A soft, steel-gray to black, hexagonally crystallized allotrope of carbon with a metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints, and coatings, that is fabricated into a variety of forms such as molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles. Also called black lead, plumbago.

[Greek graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots + -ite1.]
gra·phit'ic (grā-fĭt'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

graphite 
1796, from Ger. Graphit "black lead," coined 1789 by Ger. mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1750-1817) from Gk. graphein "write;" so called because it was used for pencils.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: graph·ite
Pronunciation: 'graf-"It
Function: noun
: carbon of a soft black lustrous form that conducts electricity and is used in leadpencils and electrolytic anodes, as a lubricant, and as a moderator in nuclear reactors called also plumbagogra·phit·ic /gra-'fit-ik/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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