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List of Chemical Element Name Etymologies: Periodic Table
List of Chemical Element Name Etymologies: Periodic Table
Contents
History
Table
See also The chemical elements of the periodic table
have received various names throughout
References history.
Further reading
History
Throughout the history of chemistry, several chemical elements have been discovered. In the nineteenth
century, Dmitri Mendeleev formulated the periodic table, a table of elements which describes their
structure. Because elements have been discovered at various times and places, from antiquity through
the present day, their names have derived from several languages and cultures.
Table
Language of Symbol
Element Original word Meaning Description
origin origin
From French
hydrogène[1] and Latin
Greek via hydro- and -genes,
ὕδωρ (root: ὑδρ-) water +
1 Hydrogen H Latin and descriptive derived from the Greek
+ -γενής (-genes) begetter
French ὕδωρ γείνομαι (hydor
geinomai), meaning "Ι
beget water".
Named after the Greek
ἥλιος (helios), which
means "the sun" or the
mythological sun-
astrological;
2 Helium He Greek ἥλιος (hélios) sun god.[2] It was first
mythological
identified by its
characteristic emission
lines in the Sun's
spectrum.
From Greek λίθος
(lithos) "stone",
because it was
discovered from a
mineral while other
3 Lithium Li Greek λίθος (lithos) stone
common alkali metals
(sodium and
potassium) were
discovered from plant
tissue.
βήρυλλος beryllos,
denoting beryl, which
contains beryllium.[3]
The word is derived
(via Latin: beryllus and
French: béryl) from the
Greek βήρυλλος,
bērullos, a blue-green
a blue-green
spar, from Prakrit
Sanskrit, Pali, spar
veruliya ( ),
and Prakrit (beryllium
from Pāli veḷuriya
via Greek, City of Belur via aluminium descriptive
( ); veḷiru
4 Beryllium Be Latin, Old Greek βήρυλλος cyclosilicate, (colour):
( ) or, viḷar
French, and (beryllos) Be3Al2(SiO3)6). beryl
( ), "to become
Middle Possibly pale," in reference to
English related to the the pale semiprecious
name of Belur.
gemstone beryl.[4] The
word is ultimately
derived from the
Sanskrit word
vaidurya, which might
be related to the name
of the Indian city of
Belur.[5]
From the Arabic ﺑﻮرق
(buraq), which refers to
Arabic, borax. Possibly derived
Medieval from the Persian, ﺑﻮره
Latin, Anglo- (burah). The Arabic was
Norman, Latin borax adapted as Medieval
5 Boron B ( ﺑﻮرقburaq)
Middle from Arabic Latin baurach, Anglo-
French, and Norman boreis, and
Middle Middle English boras,
English which became the
source of the English
"boron".
6 Carbon C Latin via charbone charcoal Latin carbo From the French,
French charbone, which in turn
came from Latin carbō,
which means
"charcoal" and is
related to carbōn,
which means "a coal".
(The German and
Dutch names,
"Kohlenstoff" and
"koolstof", respectively,
both literally mean
"coal matter".) These
words were derived
from the PIE base *ker-
meaning heat, fire, or
to burn.[6]
From French
"nitrogène",[7] derived
from Greek νίτρον
γείνομαι (nitron
geinomai), meaning "I
Greek via νίτρον (Latin:
native-soda form/beget native-soda
7 Nitrogen N Latin and nitrum) -γενής (- descriptive
French genes)
begetter (niter)".[8]
Also used was azoth,
from Andalusian Arabic
al-zuq, from the
Classical Arabic name
of the element.
From Greek ὀξύ
γείνομαι (oxy
geinomai), which
means "Ι bring forth
acid", as it was
Greek via ὀξύ γείνομαι (oxy to bring forth believed to be an
8 Oxygen O
French geinomai)/oxygène acid essential component of
acids. This phrase was
corrupted into the
French oxygène, which
became the source of
the English "oxygen".[9]
From fluorspar, one of
9 Fluorine F Latin fluor a flowing its compounds (calcium
fluoride, CaF2).
netjeri.[12]
From the Ancient Greek
Μαγνησία Μαγνησία (Magnesia)
12 Magnesium Mg Greek toponym
(Magnesia) (district in Thessaly),
where discovered.
Latin alumen, which
alum (literally: Latin
13 Aluminium Al Latin alumen means "alum" (literally
bitter salt)[13] alumen
"bitter salt").
14 Silicon Si Latin silex, -icis flint descriptive From Latin "silex" or
"silicis", which means
"flint", a kind of stone
(chiefly silicon dioxide).
From Greek φῶς +
-φόρος (phos +
phoros), which means
"light bearer", because
white phosphorus emits
Greek via φῶς + -φόρος
15 Phosphorus P light-bearer descriptive a faint glow upon
Latin[14] (phos + -phoros)
exposure to oxygen.
Phosphorus was the
ancient name for
Venus, or Hesperus, the
(Morning Star).[2]
Old Latin sulpur
(later sulphur, The word came into
Latin sulfur) Middle English from
> PIE *swelp Anglo-Norman sulfre,
16 Sulfur S Latin sulfur
Proto-Indo- PIE *swépl ̥ 'to burn' itself derived through
European (genitive *sulplós), Old French soulfre from
nominal derivative Late Latin sulfur.[16]
of *swelp.[15]
From Greek χλωρός
descriptive (chlorós), which means
(colour): "yellowish green" or
17 Chlorine Cl Greek χλωρός (chlorós) pale green[17]
Greek "greenish yellow",
chloros because of the colour
of the gas.
Greek argon means
descriptive:
18 Argon Ar Greek ἀργόν (argon) inactive "inactive" (literally
argon
"slow").
From the English
"potash", which means
"pot-ash" (potassium
compound prepared
from an alkali extracted
in a pot from the ash of
burnt wood or tree
Modern Latin leaves).
potassa; potasch
19 Potassium K via Dutch and pot-ash Potash is a literal
via potash[19]
English[18] translation of the Dutch
potaschen, which
means "pot ashes".[18]
The symbol K is from
the Latin name kalium,
from Arabic ( اﻟﻘﻠﻲal
qalīy), which means
"calcined ashes".
From Latin calx, which
means "lime". Calcium
χάλιξ means
was known as early as
"pebble", and
20 Calcium Ca Greek/Latin χάλιξ/calx Latin calx the first century when
calx means
the Ancient Romans
limestone[20]
prepared lime as
calcium oxide.
Named from Latin
Scandia, which means
21 Scandium Sc Latin Scandia Scandinavia toponym
Scandinavia; formerly
eka-boron.[21]
Τιτάν For the "Titans", the
Titans, sons of
22 Titanium Ti Greek Titan mythological first sons of Gaia in
Gaia
(gen.: Τιτάνος) Greek mythology.[2]
From Vanadís, one of
the names of the Vanr
goddess Freyja in Norse
"Dís of the
23 Vanadium V Old Norse Vanadís mythological mythology, because of
Vanir"
multicoloured chemical
compounds deemed
beautiful.[2][22]
24 Chromium Cr Greek via χρῶμα (chróma) colour descriptive From Greek χρῶμα
French (colour): (chróma), "colour",
Greek because of its
chroma multicoloured
compounds. This word
was adapted as the
French chrome, and
adding the suffix -ium
created the English
"chromium".[23]
From Latin Magnesia,
Μαγνησία ultimately from Greek;
Greek via
(Magnesia; Magnesia evolved into
25 Manganese Mn Latin, Italian, Magnesia descriptive
Medieval Latin: "manganese" in Italian
and French
magnesia) and into "manganèse"
in French.
From the Anglo-Saxon
īsern which is derived
from Proto-Germanic
Anglo-Saxon īsern holy metal or isarnan meaning "holy
descriptive:
26 Iron Fe via Middle (earlier: īren/īsen) strong metal" or "strong
Anglo-Saxon
English /yren/yron metal[24] metal".
The symbol Fe is from
Latin ferrum, meaning
"iron".
From German Kobold,
which means "evil
spirit". The metal was
named by miners,
because it was
poisonous and
troublesome (polluted
and degraded other
mined elements, such
as nickel). Other
sources cite the origin
in the silver miners'
German
27 Cobalt Co German Kobold evil spirit belief that cobalt had
kobold
been placed by
"Kobolds", who had
stolen the silver. Some
also think that the
name may have been
derived from Greek
κόβαλος, kobalos,
which means "mine"
and which may have
common roots with
kobold, goblin, and
cobalt.
From the Swedish
kopparnickel, meaning
Swedish via Kopparnickel/ copper- "copper-coloured ore";
28 Nickel Ni descriptive
German[25] Kupfernickel coloured ore this referred to the ore
niccolite from which it
was obtained.[25]
Possibly derived from
Greek Κύπριος
(Kyprios) (which comes
from Κύπρος (Kypros),
the Greek name of
Cyprus) via Latin
cuprum, West
Germanic *kupar, Old
English coper/copor,
and Middle English
Greek? via
coper. The Latin term,
Latin, West
toponym: during the Roman
Germanic, who/which is
29 Copper Cu Κύπριος (Kyprios)? Latin Empire, was aes
Old English, from Cyprus
Cuprum cyprium; "aes" was the
and Middle
generic term for copper
English[26]
alloys such as bronze).
Cyprium means
"Cyprus" or "which is
from Cyprus", where so
much of it was mined;
it was simplified to
cuprum and then
eventually Anglicized
as copper (Old English
coper/copor).
30 Zinc Zn German Zink Cornet From German Zink
which is related to
Zinken "prong, point",
probably alluding to its
spiky crystals. May be
derived from Old
Persian.
From Latin Gallia, which
means Gaul (Ancient
France), and also
gallus, which means
"rooster". The element
was obtained as free
metal by Lecoq de
Boisbaudran, who
named gallium after
France, his native land,
and also, punningly,
Gaul (Ancient after himself, as Lecoq,
31 Gallium Ga Latin Gallia toponym
France) which means "the
rooster", or in Latin,
gallus.
sdm meaning
"eyepaint".[39] Littré
suggests that the first
form is derived from
*stimmida, a
hypothetical alternative
accusative of stimmi
(the canonical
accusative of the noun
is the same as the
nominative: stimmi).
The Arabic word for the
substance, as "mark"
or "the cosmetic", can
appear as ، ﺛﻤﻮد،ﺗﺤﻤﻴﺾ
وﺛﻤﻮد، وﺛﻤﻮدithmid,
athmoud, othmod or
uthmod.[40]
From Latin tellus
52 Tellurium Te Latin Tellus Earth
("Earth").
Named after the Greek
ἰώδης (iodes), which
means "violet",
because of the colour
Greek via descriptive
53 Iodine I ἰώδης (iodes) violet of the gaseous phase.
French (colour)
This word was adapted
as the French iode,
which is the source of
the English "iodine".[41]
From the Greek
adjective ξένος
54 Xenon Xe Greek ξένος (xenos) foreign
(xenos), which means
"foreign, a stranger".
From Latin caesius,
which means "sky
blue". Its identification
descriptive
was based upon the
blue-gray[42] (colour):
55 Caesium Cs Latin caesius bright-blue lines in its
or sky blue Latin
spectrum, and it was
caesius
the first element
discovered by
spectrum analysis.
βαρύς (barys) means
"heavy". The oxide was
initially called "barote",
then "baryta", which
was modified to
Greek via "barium" to describe
56 Barium Ba βαρύς (barys) heavy Greek barys
Modern Latin the metal. Sir Humphry
Davy gave the element
this name because it
was originally found in
baryte, which shares
the same source.[43]
λανθάνειν From Greek lanthanein,
57 Lanthanum La Greek to lie hidden
(lanthanein) "to lie (hidden)".
Named after the
asteroid Ceres,
discovered two years
earlier. (The asteroid,
now classified as a
astrological; dwarf planet, was
58 Cerium Ce Latin Ceres grain, bread mythological named after Ceres, the
Ceres goddess of fertility in
Roman mythology.)[2]
Ceres is derived from
PIE *ker-es- from base
*ker- meaning to
grow.[44][45]
59 Praseodymium Pr Greek πράσιος δίδυμος green twin descriptive From Greek πράσιος
(prasios didymos) δίδυμος (prasios
didymos), meaning
"green twin", because
didymium separated
into praseodymium
and neodymium, with
salts of different
colours; praseodymium
oxide is green.
Derived from Greek
νέος διδύμος (neos
didymos), which means
"new twin", because
didymium separated
νέος δίδυμος
60 Neodymium Nd Greek new twin descriptive into praseodymium and
(neos didymos)
neodymium. The
metals have different-
coloured salts, which
helps distinguish
them.[46]
Named after
Prometheus, who stole
Προμηθεύς
61 Promethium Pm Greek forethought[47] mythological the fire of heaven and
(Prometheus)
gave it to mankind (in
Classical mythology).[2]
Named after
samarskite, the
mineral. (Samarskite
Samarsky-
62 Samarium Sm eponym was named after
Bykhovets, Vasili
Colonel Vasili
Samarsky-Bykhovets, a
Russian mine official.)
Named for Europe,
where it was
broad-faced or toponym; discovered. Europe was
63 Europium Eu Ancient Greek Εὐρώπη (Europe)
well-watered mythological named after the
fictional Phoenician
princess Europa.
Named in honour of
Johan Gadolin, who was
one of the founders of
Hebrew Nordic chemistry
surname; from research, discovered
64 Gadolinium Gd Hebrew Gadolin, Johan eponym
root gadol, yttrium, and pioneered
"great"[48] laboratory exercise
teaching. (Gadolinite,
the mineral, is also
named for him.)
Named after Ytterby,
Proper name
the village in Sweden
65 Terbium Tb Swedish Ytterby (literally: outer toponym
where the element was
village)
first discovered.
Derived from Greek
δυσπρόσιτος δυσπρόσιτος
66 Dysprosium Dy Greek hard to get at descriptive
(dysprositos) (dysprositos), which
means "hard to get at".
Derived from Latin
67 Holmium Ho Latin Holmia Stockholm toponym Holmia, which means
Stockholm.
Named after the village
of Ytterby in Sweden,
where large
concentrations of yttria
and erbia are located.
Erbia and terbia were
proper name,
confused at this time.
68 Erbium Er Swedish Ytterby literally: "outer toponym
After 1860, what had
village"
been known as terbia
was renamed erbia,
and after 1877, what
had been known as
erbia was renamed
terbia.
[ ]
69 Thulium Tm Greek Θούλη, Θύλη[49] a mythical mythological Named after Thule, an
country ancient Roman and
Greek name (Θούλη,
Θύλη) for a mythical
country in the far
north, perhaps
Scandinavia. By the
same token, thulia, its
oxide.
Named after ytterbia,
the (oxide) compound
of ytterbium. (The
compound ytterbia
proper name,
was named after
70 Ytterbium Yb Swedish Ytterby literally: "outer toponym
Ytterby, the Swedish
village"
village (near Vaxholm)
where the mineral
gadolinite was also
found.)[22]
Named after the Latin
Lutetia (Gaulish for
71 Lutetium Lu Latin Lutetia Paris toponym
"place of mud"), the
city of Paris.[22]
From Latin Hafnia,
which means
72 Hafnium Hf Latin Hafnia Copenhagen toponym
"Copenhagen" of
Denmark.
Named after the Greek
Τάνταλος ("Tantalus"),
who was punished after
death by being
condemned to stand
knee-deep in water. If
he bent to drink the
water, it drained below
Tantalus;
the level he could
Τάνταλος possibly "the
73 Tantalum Ta Greek mythological reach (in Greek
(Tantalus) bearer" or "the
mythology). This was
sufferer"[50]
considered similar to
tantalum's general non-
reactivity (that is,
"unreachability")
because of its inertness
(it sits among reagents
and is unaffected by
them).[2]
From the Swedish and
Danish "tung sten",
which means "heavy
stone". The symbol W
is from the German
name Wolfram, the
historical spelling
Swedish and
74 Tungsten W tung sten heavy stone descriptive Wolfrahm translates
Danish
literally to "wulf
cream". The names
wolfram or volfram
are still used in
Swedish and several
other languages.
[22]
Unnilpentium was
used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.[22]
Named in honour of
Glenn T. Seaborg, who
discovered the
chemistry of the
transuranium
elements, shared in the
Swedish
discovery and isolation
Swedish via Seaborg, Glenn surname,
106 Seaborgium Sg eponym of ten elements, and
English Teodor literally: "Lake
developed and
Mountain"
proposed the actinide
series. Other names:
eka-tungsten[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
unnilhexium
(Unh).[22]
Named in honour of
Niels Bohr, who made
fundamental
contributions to the
understanding of
atomic structure and
quantum
eponym: mechanics.[22]
107 Bohrium Bh Bohr, Niels
Niels Bohr
Unnilseptium was
used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.
Ununquadium
was used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.
See also
List of chemical elements naming controversies
Naming of elements
References
1. Harper, Douglas. "hydrogen" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=hydrogen). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
2. Some elements (particularly ancient elements) were associated with Greek (or Roman or other) gods
or people, in Greek mythology (or other mythology), and with planets (or other objects in the solar
system), such as Mercury (mythology) – Mercury (planet) – Mercury (element), etc.
Also, astrological symbols for the planets were often used as symbols for the ancient elements.
3. At one time, beryllium was called glucinium, which is from Greek γλυκύς (glykys), which means
"sweet", due to the sweet taste of its salts.
4. "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: beryl" (http://www.bartleby.com/61/74/B0
207400.html). Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
5. "Beryl in Online Etymological Dictionary, accessed March 9, 2010" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.p
hp?search=Beryl&searchmode=none). Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
6. Harper, Douglas. "carbon" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=carbon). Online Etymology Dictionary.
7. Harper, Douglas. "nitrogen" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=nitrogen). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
8. Nitrogen, The pure gas is inert enough that Antoine Lavoisier referred to it as "azote", meaning
"without life", since animals placed in it died of asphyxiation. This term became the French for
nitrogen and later spread to many other languages.
9. Harper, Douglas. "oxygen" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=oxygen). Online Etymology Dictionary.
10. "soda" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?
allowed_in_frame=0&search=soda&searchmode=none). soda. Online Etymology Dictionary.
11. In medieval Europe, sodanum is the Latin name of "a compound of sodium".
12. Vygus, Mark (April 2012). Vygus dictionary (http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/MarkVygusDictionary.p
df) (PDF). p. 1546.
13. "Aluminum in Online Etymological Dictionary, accessed March 9, 2010" (http://www.etymonline.com/in
dex.php?term=aluminum). Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
14. Harper, Douglas. "phosphorus" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=phosphorus). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
15. Mallory & Adams (2006) The Oxford introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European
world, Oxford University Press
16. Harper, Douglas. "Sulfur" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=Sulfur). Online Etymology Dictionary.
17. Harper, Douglas. "chlorine" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=chlorine). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
18. Harper, Douglas. "potash" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=potash). Online Etymology Dictionary.
19. Harper, Douglas. "Potassium" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=Potassium). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
20. Harper, Douglas. "calcium" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=calcium). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
21. Previous to the discovery of some unknown elements, Prof. Dmitri Mendeleev predicted and described
most of their properties; with these, he was able to accurately place them in the gaps in his periodic
table. The properties of four predicted elements, eka-boron (Eb), eka-aluminium (El), eka-
manganese (Em), and eka-silicon (Es), proved to be good predictors of scandium, gallium,
technetium and germanium, respectively. The prefix eka-, from the Sanskrit, means "one" (one place
down from a known element in the table), and is sometimes used in discussions about undiscovered
elements. For example, unbiunium is sometimes referred to as eka-actinium; see also: Mendeleev's
predicted elements
22. see List of chemical elements naming controversies
23. Harper, Douglas. "chromium" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=chromium). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
24. Harper, Douglas. "iron" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=iron). Online Etymology Dictionary.
25. Harper, Douglas. "nickel" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=nickel). Online Etymology Dictionary.
26. Harper, Douglas. "copper" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=copper). Online Etymology Dictionary.
27. Harper, Douglas. "arsenic" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=arsenic). Online Etymology Dictionary.
28. Harper, Douglas. "bromine" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=bromine). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
29. Gemoll W, Vretska K (1997). Griechisch-Deutsches Schul- und Handwörterbuch (Greek–German
dictionary), 9th ed. öbvhpt. ISBN 3-209-00108-1.
30. Pearse, Roger (2002-09-16). "Syriac Literature" (http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/oriental/syriac.htm).
Retrieved 2008-02-11.
31. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=zircon). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
32. Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996-01-01). A History of Ukraine (https://books.google.com/books?id=t124cP06
gg0C&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=Ruthenia+-+Kievan+Rus&source=bl&ots=aSuDhQSe0Q&sig=bOPAJZ
WFiiwgW9G-cC2_zOx81XE#v=onepage&q=Ruthenia%20-%20Kievan%20Rus&f=false). University of
Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802078209.
33. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Pallas). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
34. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=palladium).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
35. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=silver). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
36. Tin – The American Heritage Dictionary
37. "Antimony | Define Antimony at Dictionary.com" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antimony).
Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
38. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=antimony).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
39. Vygus, Mark (April 2012). Vygus dictionary (http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/MarkVygusDictionary.p
df) (PDF). p. 1409.
40. Antimony,
LSJ, s.v., vocalisation, spelling, and declension vary; Endlich; Celsus, 6.6.6 ff; Pliny Natural History
33.33; Lewis and Short: Latin Dictionary. OED, s. antimony.
stimmi is used by the Attic tragic poets of the 5th century BC. Later Greeks also used στίβι (stibi),
which is written in Latin by Celsus and Pliny in the first century AD. Pliny also names stimi [sic],
larbaris, alabaster (Greek: ἀλάβαστρον), "very common platyophthalmos (πλατυόφθαλμος)", "wide-
eye" in Greek (the description refers to the effects of the cosmetic). In Egyptian hieroglyphics,
mśdmt; the vowels are uncertain, but in Coptic and according to an Arabic tradition, it is
pronounced mesdemet (Albright; Sarton, quotes Meyerhof, the translator). In Arabic, the word for
powdered stibnite is kuhl.[1] (http://www.3rd1000.com/elements/Antimony.htm)
41. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=iodine). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
42. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cesium). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
43. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=barium). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
44. Mike Campbell. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Ceres" (http://www.behindthename.com/nam
e/ceres). Behind the Name. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
45. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cereal). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
46. Neodymium is frequently misspelled as neodynium
47. The ancient Greek derivation of Prometheus from the Greek πρό pro ("before") + μανθάνω manthano
("learn"), thus "forethought", which engendered a contrasting brother Epimetheus ("afterthought"),
was a folk etymology; it is succinctly expressed in Servius' commentary on Virgil, Eclogue 6.42:
"Prometheus vir prudentissimus fuit, unde etiam Prometheus dictus est ἀπὸ τής πρόμηθείας, id est a
providentia." Modern scientific linguistics suggests that the name derived from the Proto-Indo-
European root that also produces the Vedic pra math, "to steal," hence pramathyu-s, "thief", cognate
with "Prometheus", the thief of fire. The Vedic myth of fire's theft by Mātariśvan is an analog to the
Greek account. Pramantha was the tool used to create fire. See: Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004). Indo-
European Language and Culture: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing, p. 27.; Williamson (2004), The
Longing for Myth in Germany, 214–15; Dougherty, Carol (2006). Prometheus. p. 4.
48. Pyykkö, Pekka (2015-07-23). "Magically magnetic gadolinium" (https://www.nature.com/articles/nchem.
2287). Nature Chemistry. 7: 680.
49. "Thule in Wordnik, accessed March 9, 2010" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131004225019/http://ww
w.wordnik.com/words/Thule/etymologies). Wordnik.com. Archived from the original (http://www.wordni
k.com/words/Thule/etymologies) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
50. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Tantalus).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
51. Woods, Ian (2004). The Elements: Platinum (https://archive.org/details/platinum0000wood). The
Elements. Benchmark Books. ISBN 978-0-7614-1550-3.
52. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=platinum).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
53. Gold in Sanskrit is jval; in Greek, χρυσός (khrusos); in Chinese, (jīn).
54. Mercury – The Indian alchemy called Rassayana, which means "the way of mercury".
55. Lead, Lead was mentioned in the Book of Exodus. Alchemists believed that lead was the oldest metal
and associated the element with Saturn.
56. Astatine, An earlier proposed name for astatine was alabamine (Ab)
57. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=radon). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
58. Protactinium; In 1913, Kasimir Fajans and Otto H. Göhring identified and named element 91
brevium, from Latin brevis, which means "brief, short"; protactinium has a short half-life. The name
was changed to "protoactinium" in 1918 and shortened to protactinium in 1949.
59. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Pluto). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
60. Derived from a Latin masculine genitive.
61. Mendelevium, "Mendeleyev" commonly spelt as Mendeleev, Mendeléef, or Mendelejeff, and first
name sometimes spelt as Dmitry or Dmitriy
62. Darmstadtium, Some humorous scientists suggested the name policium, because 110 is the
emergency telephone number for the German police.
Further reading
Eric Scerri, The Periodic System, Its Story and Its Significance, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.
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