-ite 1
a suffix of nouns denoting esp. persons associated with a place, tribe, leader, doctrine, system, etc. ( Campbellite; Israelite; laborite ); minerals and fossils ( ammonite; anthracite ); explosives ( cordite; dynamite ); chemical compounds, esp. salts of acids whose names end in -ous ( phosphite; sulfite ); pharmaceutical and commercial products ( vulcanite ); a member or component of a part of the body ( somite ). Cf. -itis .
[ ME -ita -ites; often directly -ite, G -it, etc. ]
-ite 2
a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from adjectives, and from some verbs: composite; opposite; erudite; requisite.
[ -itus or -itus ptp. suffix ]