erythrite Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a reddish mineral consisting of hydrated cobalt arsenate in monoclinic crystalline form and used in coloring glass; usually found in veins bearing cobalt and arsenic
    cobalt bloom.

WordNet

E*ryth"rite noun
Etymology
Gr. red.
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) A colorless crystalline substance, C4H6.(OH)4, of a sweet, cooling taste, extracted from certain lichens, and obtained by the decomposition of erythrin; -- called also erythrol, erythroglucin, erythromannite, pseudorcin, cobalt bloom, and under the name phycite obtained from the alga Protococcus vulgaris. It is a tetrabasic alcohol, corresponding to glycol and glycerin. now usu. called erythritol, HO.CH2.CHOH.CHOH.CH2.OH Has coronary vasodilator activity.
  2. (Min.) A rose-red mineral, crystallized and earthy, a hydrous arseniate of cobalt, known also as cobalt bloom; -- called also erythrin or erythrine.

Webster 1913