a kind of volcanic rock that rings when struck, 1818, literally "sounding stone," from phono- + -lite. Translating German Klingstein (compare French phonolithe, 1812).
Entries linking to phonolite
phono-
word-forming element meaning "sound, voice," from Greek phōno-, combining form of phōnē "voice, sound" of a human or animal, also "tone, voice, pronunciation, speech" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say").
-lite
word-forming element meaning "stone," from French -lite, variant of -lithe, from Greek lithos "stone" (see litho-). The form perhaps influenced by chemical word-forming element -ite (1).