n.
A black to red-brown mineral, (Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6, distinguished from columbite by the predominance of tantalum over niobium and used as an ore of both elements.
[TANTAL(UM) + -ITE1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
