True confession: I’d always thought ‘ammonite’ was pronounced differently from ‘Ammonite’.
Ammonite \’a-m(e)-nite\ is obvious. People from Ammon are Ammonites. Instinctual.
Similarly, ammonites are exotic marine creatures, so should clearly be called \a-‘men-(e)-teez\. Kind of like anemone.
Alas, no. They are pronounced the same.
But who says? Maybe if I work the exotic pronunciation of ammonite into as many conversations as possible, it will catch on. That’s the plan.