Phonolite
Alkali-rich silica-undersaturated volcanic rock, generally with feldspathoids, that may ring when struck.
Language and route: French phonolithe; modelled on German Klingstein. French phonolithe; modelled on German Klingstein
Literal gloss: sounding stone
The name and its history
French *phonolithe* attested in d’Aubuisson (1804); original inventor not established · 1804 French scientific usage bibliographically documented; 1805 English translation; earliest coinage unconfirmed
- What does the word literally mean?
- French phonolithe is constructed from Greek phōnḗ, ‘sound’, and líthos, ‘stone’; it translates the sense of German Klingstein.
- What did the original author mean?
- French phonolithe translated the earlier German Klingstein (‘ringing stone’). J.-F. d’Aubuisson used phonolithe in a paper of 1804, when acoustic behaviour and mineral composition were salient.
- Why was the name needed?
- A Greco-French scientific expression supplied a translatable name for the already recognised German ringing-stone category; it was not the first recognition of the rock.
- What evidence supported the original concept?
- Ringing of thin slabs on percussion, observed texture and nineteenth-century compositional analyses featured in early accounts; d’Aubuisson’s 1804 paper documents terminology in circulation.
- How has geology changed the concept?
- Phonolite is classified using feldspathoid-rich, silica-undersaturated volcanic composition, not the fact that a slab rings when struck.
Further historical context
French phonolithe translated the earlier German Klingstein (‘ringing stone’). J.-F. d’Aubuisson used phonolithe in a paper of 1804, when acoustic behaviour and mineral composition were salient.
A Greco-French scientific expression supplied a translatable name for the already recognised German ringing-stone category; it was not the first recognition of the rock.
Ringing of thin slabs on percussion, observed texture and nineteenth-century compositional analyses featured in early accounts; d’Aubuisson’s 1804 paper documents terminology in circulation.
Phonolite is classified using feldspathoid-rich, silica-undersaturated volcanic composition, not the fact that a slab rings when struck.
Editorial qualification
An academic historical bibliography identifies d’Aubuisson’s 1804 Journal de Physique paper (vol. 59, pp. 367–382); an 1805 English digest also uses “phonolithe”. Original French page has not been visually checked, and this is an attestation, not proved coinage.
Related names
Sources
- J.-F. d’Aubuisson (1804) phonolithe paper, identified in historical bibliography — Scholarly bibliography lists Journal de Physique 59 (1804), pp. 367–382; source-page inspection pending
- Online Etymology Dictionary, phonolite — German Klingstein calque and Greek sound-stone interpretation
- British Geological Survey, Rock Classification Scheme — Authority for modern rock categories and distinctions
- IUGS Subcommission / Le Bas et al. (1984), TAS classification of volcanic rocks — Modern chemistry-based classification and historical standardisation; not proof of each original coinage
- CNRTL French historical lexicon, phonolithe (1807 Brongniart attestation) — Independent lexicographical attestation; not proof of first coinage