Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X, list of scientific terms with Scottish connections).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
ALLANITE. Geol. A silicate of calcium, aluminium and iron, with traces of cerium and yttrium (1810 Trans. Royal Soc. Edb. VI. 371).
[Named by T. Thomson after Thomas Allan, an Edb. banker and mineral collector who found it in the cargo of a Greenland ship in Leith harbour.]