Fuchsite
/ˈfʊksaɪt/noun
A green variety of muscovite mica colored chiefly by chromium.
Did you know?Fuchsite was named after German chemist and mineralogist Johann Nepomuk von Fuchs, whose surname means “fox” in German; the mineral’s name therefore indirectly preserves an animal word thousands of years old.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*puh₂ks- / *puḱ-
“A reconstructed root associated with the fox, possibly through the animal’s distinctive tail; this connection is considered etymologically uncertain.”
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*fuhsą
“Fox.”
Old High German
Old High German
fuhs
“Fox; the ancestor of German Fuchs.”
18th Century
German
Fuchs
“Fox; also a hereditary surname borne by Johann Nepomuk von Fuchs.”
1850s
German/English
Fuchsite
“A mineral name formed from Fuchs plus the mineral suffix -ite, honoring Johann Fuchs.”
Modern English
English
fuchsite
“A chromium-rich green variety of muscovite mica.”