"black lead," 1796, from German Graphit, coined 1789 by German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1750-1817) from Greek graphein "write" (see -graphy) + mineral suffix -ite. So called because it was used in making pencils. Related: Graphitic.
-graph
graph
grapheme
graphic
graphics
graphite
graphology
graphomania
-graphy
grapnel
grappa
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