CHEMISTRY, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: Periodic Table Elements - Roots, Origin, Etymology of Names

A

Actinium Ac - aktis = ray

Aluminum Al - alumen = substance with astringent taste

Americium Am - America (country or continent)

Antimony Sb - antimonos = opposite to solitude

Argon Ar - argos = inactive

Arsenic As - arsenikon = valiant

Astatine At - astatos = unstable



B

Barium Ba - barys = heavy

Berkelium Bk - Berkeley (University of California)

Beryllium Be - beryllos = a mineral

Bismuth Bi - bisemutum = white mass

Boron B - bawraq = white, borax

Bromine Br - bromos = stink, stench



C

Cadmium Cd - cadmia = calamine, a zinc ore

Calcium Ca - calcis = lime

Californium Cf - State and University of California

Carbon C - carbo = coal

Cerium Ce - Ceres = the asteriod

Cesium Cs - caesius = sky blue

Chlorine Cl - chloros = grass green

Chromium Cr - chroma = color

Cobalt Co - kobolos = a goblin

Copper Cu - cuprum = copper

Curium Cm - Marie & Pierre Curie (French physicists)



D

Dysprosium Dy - dysprositos = hard to get at, difficult to access, hard to obtain, rare earth



E

Einsteinium Es - Albert Einstein (German theoretical physicist)

Erbium Er - Ytterby = town in Sweden where it was discovered

Europium Eu - Europe (continent)



F

Fermium Fm - Enrico Fermi (Italian physicist)

Fluorine F - fluere = to flow

Francium Fr - France (country)



G

Gadolinium Gd - Johan Gadolin (Finnish chemist)

Gallium Ga - Gaul (historic France)

Germanium Ge - Germany (country)

Gold Au - aurum (Anglo-Saxon, Latin "gold")



H

Hafnium Hf - Hafnia (city of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Helium He - helios = sun

Holmium Ho - Holmia (city of Stockholm, Sweden)

Hydrogen H - "hydro genes" = water former



I

Indium In - indicum = indigo spectrum line

Iodine I - iodes = violet spectrum line

Iridium Ir - iridis = rainbow

Iron Fe - Anglo Saxon "iren", Latin "ferrum"



K

Krypton Kr - kryptos = hidden



L

Lanthanum La - lanthanien = to be concealed

Lawrencium Lw - Earnest Lawrence (American nuclear physicist, writer, inventor of cyclotron)

Lead Pb - Anglo Saxon lead, Latin plumbum

Lithium Li - lithos = stone

Lutetium Lu - Lutetia = ancient name of Paris, France



M

Magnesium Mg - magnes = magnet

Mendelevium Md - Dmitri Mendeleev (Russian chemist and inventor, devised periodic table)

Mercury Hg - Mercury, messenger of the gods (mythology) ; "hydrarygus" = liquid silver

Molybdenum Mo - molybdos = lead



N

Neodymium Nd - from two Greek words: neos = new; didymos = twin

Neon Ne - neos = new

Neptunium Np - named after the planet Neptune

Nickel Ni - from German "kupfernickel", false copper

Niobium Nb - Niobe = mythological daughter of Tantalus (Greek mythology)

Nitrogen N - from two Latin words: nitro = native soda; gen = born

Nobelium No - Alfred Nobel (Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, armaments manufacturer and the inventor of dynamite)



O

Osmium Os - Greek: osme = odor of volatile tetroxide

Oxygen O - from two Greek words: "oxys" = sharp; "gen" = born



P

Palladium Pd - named after the planetoid Pallas

Phosphorus P - phosphoros = light bringer

Platinum Pt - from Spanish "plata", meaning silver

Plutonium Pu - named after the planet Pluto

Polonium Po - Poland (country of Marie Curie, co-discoverer of the element)

Potassium K - Latin "kalium", English potash

Praseodymium Pr - from Greek: Praseos = leek green; didymos = twin

Promethium Pm - Prometheus = fire bringer (Greek mythology)

Protactinium Pa - protos = first



R

Radium Ra - Latin "radius" = ray

Radon Rn - from Radium (the element Radon is formed by radioactive decay of radium)

Rhenium Re - Rhenus = Rhine province of Germany

Rhodium Rh - rhodon = a rose

Rubidium Rb - rubidus = red

Ruthenium Ru - Ruthenia (Latinized form of Russia) = region of western Ukraine south of the Carpathian Mountains



S

Samarium Sm - Vasili Samarski-Bykhovets, a Russian mining engineer

Scandium Sc - Scandinavia

Selenium Se - selene = moon

Silicon Si - silex = flint

Silver Ag - Latin "argentum", Anglo-Saxon, siolful

Sodium Na - Latin "natrium"; "sodanum" = cure for headaches

Strontium Sr - town of Strontian, Scotland

Sulfur S - Latin: sulphur, sulpur, sulfur = brimstone



T

Tantalum Ta - Tantalus (Greek mythology)

Technetium Tc - technetos = artificial

Tellurium Te - tellus = the earth

Terbium Tb - Ytterby (town in Sweden)

Thallium Tl - thallos = young shoot

Thorium Th - Thor (Scandinavian mythology)

Thulium Tm - Thule = northern part of habitable world

Tin Sn - Latin "stannum", Tinia (Etruscan god)

Titanium Ti - Titans (Greek mythology: The Titans were the first sons of the earth)

Tungsten W - symbol from German "worfram"; from Swedish: "tung sten" meaning heavy stone



U

Uranium U - named from the planet Uranus



V

Vanadium V - Vanadis (goddess of Scandinavian mythology)



X

Xenon Xe - from Greek "xenos" = strange



Y

Ytterbium Yb - Scandinavian: Ytterby  (a town in Sweden)

Yttrium Y - Scandinavian: Ytterby (town in Sweden)



Z

Zinc Zn - German "zink", "zinn" meaning tin

Zirconium Zr - zircon = mineral