millerite
noun
Forms millerites
- noun (geology) A nickel sulfide mineral, NiS, that occurs as hairlike tufts.
- noun (Christianity) One who followed the calculations of William Miller or his followers that the world would end on October 22, 1844; when it did not, the Great Disappointment occurred. The subsequent denominations his movement spawned include the Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses and the (Campbellite) Restorationists.
- noun A resident of any community known as Miller; often specifically a resident of Miller Beach, in Gary, Indiana
Etymology
From Miller + -ite, from British mineralogist William Hallowes Miller.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A believer in the doctrine of William Miller (d. 1849), who taught that the end of the world and the second coming of Christ were at hand.
- noun A sulphide of nickel, commonly occurring in delicate capillary crystals, also in incrustations of a bronze yellow; --sometimes called hair pyrites.
Etymology [From W. H. Miller, of Cambridge, Eng.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “millerite”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details