Definition of "limonite" [li•mon•ite]

• Any of a group of widely occurring yellowish-brown to black iron oxide minerals, essentially FeO(OH)·nH2O, used as a minor ore of iron. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In others, again, are found considerable quantities of soft powdery iron oxide or "gossan," and compounds such as limonite, aluminous clay, etc., which, under the action of the crushing mill become finely divided and float off in water as "slimes," carrying with them atoms of gold, often microscopically small."
• "It was extracted from ruddle (red ochre) and limonite"
• "Interestingly, a large house adjacent to the pits had unusual limestone flooring and deposits of limonite and ocher -- sometimes used as pigments by Southeastern groups to paint the body during rituals -- suggesting special ceremonial activities took place in this structure."