xenotime
/ˈzɛnə(ʊ)tʌɪm
/noun [mass noun]
A yellowish-brown mineral which occurs in some igneous rocks and consists of a phosphate of yttrium and other rare earth elements.
- Composition: native yttrium phosphate.
- Other accessory minerals are apatite, zircon, monazite, huttonite and rare xenotime, uraninite and betafite.
- Pale brown to yellow xenotime and zircon are abundant as fine crystals up to 2 mm in length in many of the miarolitic granite cavities as well as in pegmatite pockets.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from xeno-, apparently erroneously for Greek kenos 'vain, empty', + timē 'honour' (because it was wrongly supposed to contain a new metal).