[‹ G Hercynit (1839), equiv. to L Hercyn(ia silva) the Hercynian Forest (referring to the Erz Mountains and other wooded ranges N ofthe Danube) + G -it -ite1]-ite is a suffix of nouns denoting esp. persons associated with a place, tribe, leader,doctrine, system, etc. (Campbellite; Israelite; laborite); minerals and fossils (ammonite; anthracite); explosives (cordite; dynamite); chemical compounds, esp. salts of acids whose names end in -ous (phosphite; sulfite); pharmaceutical and commercial products (vulcanite); a member or component of a part of the body (somite)