Min. [mod. f. (by Werner 1786) Gr. ἀπάτη deceit + -ITE; in reference to the diverse and deceiving forms of the mineral.] A native crystallized phosphate of lime, varying in color from white to green, blue, violet, brown; transparent, translucent or opaque.
1803. Edin. Rev., III. 51. It is certainly much better to talk … of phosphate of lime, than of apatite.
1869. Phillips, Vesuv., x. 284. Apatite … is found crystallized in ejected blocks and lava.
1879. Rutley, Stud. Rocks, x. 146. Under the microscope apatite appears in elongated hexagonal prisms.
