Am·mon·ite

(ăm′ə-nīt′)

1. A member of a Semitic people inhabiting ancient Ammon, mentioned frequently in the Bible.

2. The Semitic language of the Ammonites.

[From Late Latin Ammōnītēs, the Ammonites, from Hebrew 'ammônî, Ammonite, from 'ammôn, Ammon, perhaps of Canaanite origin; see ʕmm in Semitic roots.]

am·mo·nite

(ăm′ə-nīt′)

1. An extinct cephalopod mollusk of the order Ammonitida of the Permian to Cretaceous Periods, having a thick, usually coiled shell characterized by intricate suture patterns where the septa between individual chambers join the outer shell wall.

2. An ammonoid.

[New Latin Ammōnītēs, from Latin (cornū) Ammōnis, (horn) of Amun, ammonite, genitive of Ammōn, Amun, from Greek : from Egyptian jmn.]

am′mo·nit′ic (-nĭt′ĭk) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ammonite

(ˈæməˌnaɪt)

1. (Palaeontology) any extinct marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Ammonoidea, which were common in Mesozoic times and generally had a coiled partitioned shell. Their closest modern relative is the pearly nautilus

2. (Palaeontology) the shell of any of these animals, commonly occurring as a fossil

[C18: from New Latin Ammōnītēs, from Medieval Latin cornū Ammōnis, literally: horn of Ammon]

ammonitic adj

ammonite

(ˈæməˌnaɪt)

1. (Elements & Compounds) an explosive consisting mainly of ammonium nitrate with smaller amounts of other substances, such as TNT

2. (Elements & Compounds) a nitrogenous fertilizer made from animal wastes

[C20: from ammo(nium) + ni(tra)te]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

am•mo•nite

(ˈæm əˌnaɪt)

n.

the coiled, chambered fossil shell of an ammonoid.

[1700–10; < New Latin Ammonites= Medieval Latin (cornū) Ammōn(is) literally, horn of Ammon¹ + -ītes -ite¹]

am`mo•nit′ic (-ˈnɪt ɪk) adj.

am•mon•i•toid (əˈmɒn ɪˌtɔɪd) adj.

Am•mon•ite

(ˈæm əˌnaɪt)

n.

a member of a Semitic people inhabiting ancient Ammon.

[1605–15]

am·mo·nite

(ăm′ə-nīt′)

Any of the coiled fossil shells of a group of extinct mollusks related to the nautilus. Ammonites were especially abundant during the Mesozoic Era.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

ammonite - one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of extinct mollusks

ammonoid

fossil - the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been excavated from the soil

Translations

ammonite

[ˈæməˌnaɪt] n → ammonite f

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Him the AMMONITE Worshipt in RABBA and her watry Plain, In ARGOB and in BASAN, to the stream Of utmost ARNON.

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Through the strange women clustering at the corners I took my way,--women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites,--and I thought, as I looked into their poor painted faces,--faces but half human, vampirish faces, faces already waxen with the look of the grave,--I thought, as I often did, of the poor little girl whom De Quincey loved, the good-hearted little `peripatetic' as he called her, who had succoured him during those nights, when, as a young man, he wandered homeless about these very streets,--that good, kind little Ann whom De Quincey had loved, then so strangely lost, and for whose face he looked into women's faces as long as he lived.

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When was it ever known that the Ammonites proved wanting to their own interests?

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In some cases, however, the extermination of whole groups of beings, as of ammonites towards the close of the secondary period, has been wonderfully sudden.

With respect to the apparently sudden extermination of whole families or orders, as of Trilobites at the close of the palaeozoic period and of Ammonites at the close of the secondary period, we must remember what has been already said on the probable wide intervals of time between our consecutive formations; and in these intervals there may have been much slow extermination.

View in context

Using characters such as 'Larry Limestone' and 'Andreas Ammonite', the basics are covered along with links to background information.

British Geological Survey: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/education/home.html

The explosions at the privately-owned "Midzhur" started at Wednesday night, and are still continuing as there were 10 tons of ammonite in its storage facilities as well as mines and other ammunition.

3 Men Hurt in Bulgarian Ammo Factory Explosion

Shaw will also be seen in the LGBTQ period drama 'Ammonite' alongside Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet.

Fiona Shaw joins cast of 'Enola Holmes'