before vowels, lith-, word-forming element meaning "stone, rock;" from Greek lithos "stone, a precious stone, marble; a piece on a game board," a word of unknown origin.
Entries linking to litho-
coprolite n.
"fossil dung, hard, roundish stony mass consisting of petrified fecal matter," 1829, from copro- + -lite, from French, for -lithe, from Greek lithos "stone" (see litho-). Related: Coprolitic.
graptolite n.
fossilized colonial animal from the Cambrian and later, 1838, from Modern Latin graptolithus, literally "written-stone," from Greek graptos "engraved, written, painted" (verbal adjective of graphein; see -graphy) + lithos "stone" (see litho-). So called because the fossils resemble pens. Related: Graptolitic.