zeolite
noun
any of a large group of minerals consisting of hydrated aluminosilicates of sodium, potassium, calcium, and barium. They can be readily dehydrated and rehydrated, and are used as cation exchangers and molecular sieves.

DERIVATIVES
zeolitic
adjective
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Swedish and German zeolit, from Greek zein ‘to boil’ + -lite (from their characteristic swelling when heated in the laboratory).

-lite
suffix
forming names of rocks, minerals, and fossils : clinoptilolite | zeolite.
ORIGIN from French, from Greek lithos ‘stone.’