Elements by Name Origin Flashcards
From the name for a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, considered a planet at the time
Cerium
From the Greek for ‘strange’
Xenon
From the name of a Roman god of commerce and communication, known for his speed
Mercury
From the name of the Scandinavian god of thunder
Thorium
From the Latin for ‘coal’
Carbon
From the Latin name for Germany
Germanium
From the Latin for ‘lime’
Calcium
From the name of the element of which it is the immediate decay product
Radon (from ‘radium’)
Of unknown origin but possibility from the Greek for ‘against’ and ‘alone’
Antimony
From the name of a village in Scotland
Strontium
From the Swedish for ‘heavy stone’
Tungsten
From the Greek for ‘idle’
Argon
From the Latin for ‘the ground, earth’
Tellurium
From the Latin for ‘sky-blue’
Caesium
From the Latin name for the home country of Marie Curie
Polonium
From the Latin name for the Danish city where it was discovered
Hafnium (from ‘Copenhagen’)
From the name of the physicist from New Zealand who is considered the founder of nuclear physics
Rutherfordium
From the proto-Germanic name for the material, ultimately of unknown origin but possibly from the Akkadian for ‘refined’
Silver
From the name of the laboratory where the element was synthesised, ultimately named after a Russian physicist
Flerovium
From the name of the dwarf planet that was considered the ninth planet in the Solar System at the time
Plutonium
From the name for a mineral whose varieties include emerald and aquamarine
Beryllium (named for beryl)
From the name of a Polish astronomer
Copernicium
From the Latin for ‘brimstone’
Sulfur
From the medieval Latin for Eastern Slavic lands
Ruthenium
From the name of an asteroid, considered a planet at the time
Palladium (from the asteroid Pallas)
From the Greek for ‘first, before’ + the name of the element produced by its the radioactive decay
Protactinium
From Proto-Germanic, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European for ‘shine’
Gold
From the name of an Austrian physicist, one of those who first discovered nuclear fission
Meitnerium
From the name for the Californian laboratory which collaborated on its synthesis, ultimately named for the town
Livermorium
From the Latin for the mined and manufactured (from plant ashes) salts that contained the element
Potassium
From the name of a Danish physicist
Bohrium
From the French but ultimately from the Old Iranian for ‘golden’
Arsenic
From the name of a district in Thessaly in Greece
Magnesium and Manganese
From the name of the city in Germany where the element was first synthesised
Darmstadtium
From the name of the Russian chemist and inventor who proposed the periodic table
Mendelevium
From the name of a Swedish chemist and engineer
Nobelium
From the name of an Italian physicist
Fermium
From the Greek for ‘green twin’
Praseodymium
From the Greek for ‘acid-forming’
Oxygen
From the Greek for ‘light-bearing’
Phosphorus
From the name for the sons of the Earth goddess of Greek mythology
Titanium
From the Greek for ‘to lie hidden’
Lanthanum
From the Proto-Germanic name for the material, ultimately of unknown origin
Lead
From the Latin name for a major European river
Rhenium (from ‘Rhine’)
From the Greek for ‘heavy’
Barium
From the Greek for ‘ray’
Actinium
From the name of the German physicist who discovered radioactivity
Roentgenium
From the Greek for ‘water-forming’
Hydrogen
From the Greek for ‘piece of lead’
Molybdenum
From the Arabic for ‘headache’ as one of its compounds was once widely used as a treatment for headaches
Sodium (sodium carbonate was used to treat headaches)
From the Greek for ‘moon’
Selenium
From the name of a mineral named after a Russian mine official
Samarium (after samarskite, after Colonel Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets)
From the Latin for ‘ray’
Radium
From the Greek for ‘artificial’
Technetium
From the name of an American chemist involved in the discovery of 10 transuranium elements
Seaborgium
From an Old Norse name for the Scandinavian goddess Freyja
Vanadium
From the name of an American physicist and inventor of the cyclotron
Lawrencium
From the Greek for ‘saltpeter-forming’
Nitrogen
From the name of a village in Sweden
Yttrium, Terbium, Erbium, and Ytterbium
From the name of the German physicist known for, among other things, his mass-energy equivalence equation
Einsteinium
From the name of the continent where the element was first synthesised
Americium
Most likely from the German for ‘prong’ or ‘tooth’
Zinc
From the Greek for ‘green shoot or twig’
Thallium
From the name for the Russia city where the element was first synthesised
Moscovium
From the Latin name for discoverer Per Teodor Cleve’s home town
Holmium (from ‘Stockholm’)
From the Greek for ‘new twin’
Neodymium
From the name of the founder and first king of Thebes
Cadmium
From the Greek for ‘stench’
Bromine
From the English, ultimately from the Greek for ‘Cyprus’
Copper
From the name of the city in California where the element was first synthesized
Berkelium
From the name of a southern U.S. state
Tennessine
From the Latin name for France
Gallium
From the name of the eighth planet in the Solar System
Neptunium
From the Greek for ‘hidden’
Krypton
From the name of the daughter of king Tantalus from Greek mythology
Niobium
From the Greek for ‘violet’
Iodine
From the Greek for ‘greenish yellow’
Chlorine
From the name of a Russian physicist who is one of the world’s leading researcher on superheavy elements
Oganesson (from ‘Oganessian’)
From the name of the U.S. state where the element was first synthesised
Californium
From the Japanese name for Japan (where the element was first synthesised)
Nihonium
From the name of a continent
Europium
From the Greek for ‘rose-coloured’
Rhodium
From an early name used for the Scandinavian Peninsula by the first cartographers
Scandium
From the Greek for ‘stone’
Lithium
From the Greek for ‘sun’
Helium
From the name of the Titan of Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity
Promethium
From the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow
Iridium
From the German for ‘goblin’
Cobalt
From the Greek for ‘smell’
Osmium
From the name for a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology
Nickel
From the Greek for ‘new’
Neon
From the name of the town in Russia where the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research is located
Dubnium (from ‘Dubna’)
From the name of a Greek mythological king famous for his eternal punishment in Tartarus
Tantalum
From the Greek for ‘colour’
Chromium
From the proto-Germanic name for the material, not found in Indo-European
Tin
From the Latin name for a state in Germany
Hassium (from ‘Hesse’)
From the name of a silicate mineral that is sometimes used as a substitute for diamond
Zirconium
From the name of the seventh planet in the Solar System
Uranium
From the ancient name for an unclear northern location
Thulium (from ‘Thule’)
From the name of a family of French physicists and chemists
Curium
From the Latin for ‘deep red’
Rubidium
From the Latin for ‘to flow’
Fluorine
From the name for the European country where it was discovered
Francium
From the Greek for ‘hard to get’
Dysprosium
From the Latin for ‘indigo’ (colour found in its spectrum)
Indium
From the Latin for ‘flint’
Silicon
From the Latin name for Paris
Lutetium
From the Greek for ‘unstable’
Astatine
From the Spanish for ‘little silver’
Platinum
From the name of a mineral named after a Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist
Gadolinium (after gadolinite, after Johan Gadolin)
From the name for a soft white, soluble mineral first discovered in dry lake beds in Tibet and imported via the Silk Road
Boron (named for borax)
From the Proto-Germanic name for the material, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European for ‘strong’
Iron
From the German for ‘white mass’
Bismuth
From the Latin for ‘bitter salt’
Aluminum
