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
