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cobalt: cobalt: [17] German kobold means ‘goblin’: and in former times it was believed by German silver miners that impurities in the ore they were extracting, which lessened the value of the silver and even made them ill, were put there by these mischievous creatures. In fact these impurities were a silver-white metallic element, which was named kobalt after a Middle High German variant of kobold (the miners’ sickness was probably caused by the arsenic with which it occurred).
potash: potash: [17] Potassium carbonate was originally obtained by burning wood or other vegetable matter, soaking the ashes in water, and evaporating the resulting liquid in iron pots. The resulting substance was hence called in early modern Dutch potasschen, literally ‘pot ashes’, and the word was adopted into English as potash. From it, or its French relative potasse, the chemist Sir Humphry Davy coined in 1807 the term potassium for the metallic element which occurs in potash.
=> ash, pot, potassium
aluminum (n.): 1812, coined by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), from alumina, name given 18c. to aluminum oxide, from Latin alumen "alum" (see alum). Davy originally called it alumium (1808), then amended this to aluminum, which remains the U.S. word, but British editors in 1812 further amended it to aluminium, the modern preferred British form, to better harmonize with other metallic element names (sodium, potassium, etc.).
Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound. ["Quarterly Review," 1812]
antimony (n.): brittle metallic element, early 15c., from Old French antimoine and directly from Medieval Latin antimonium, an alchemist's term (used 11c. by Constantinus Africanus), origin obscure, probably a Latinization of Greek stimmi "powdered antimony, black antimony" (a cosmetic used to paint the eyelids), from some Arabic word (such as al 'othmud), unless the Arabic word is from the Greek or the Latin is from Arabic; probably ultimately from Egyptian stm "powdered antimony." In French folk etymology, anti-moine "monk's bane" (from moine).

As the name of a pure element, it is attested in English from 1788. Its chemical symbol Sb is for Stibium, the Latin name for "black antimony," which word was used also in English for "black antimony."
beryllium (n.): metallic element, 1863, so called because it figures in the composition of the pale green precious stone beryl and was identified in emerald (green beryl) in 1797 by French chemist Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1763-1829) and first isolated in 1828. At first and through 19c. also sometimes called glucinum or glucinium.
bromine (n.): nonmetallic element, 1827, from French brome, from Greek bromos "stench." With chemical suffix -ine (2). The evil-smelling dark red liquid was discovered by French chemist Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802-1876), who initially called it muride.
calcium (n.): coined 1808 by English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829), who first succeeded in isolating it, from Latin calx (genitive calcis) "limestone" (see chalk (n.)) + metallic element ending -ium.
carbon (n.): non-metallic element, 1789, coined 1787 in French by Lavoisier as charbone, from Latin carbonem (nominative carbo) "a coal, glowing coal; charcoal," from PIE root *ker- (4) "heat, fire, to burn" (cognates: Latin cremare "to burn;" Sanskrit kudayati "singes;" Lithuanian kuriu "to heat," karštas "hot," krosnis "oven;" Old Church Slavonic kurjo "to smoke," krada "fireplace, hearth;" Russian ceren "brazier;" Old High German harsta "roasting;" Gothic hauri "coal;" Old Norse hyrr "fire;" Old English heorð "hearth").

Carbon 14, long-lived radioactive isotope used in dating organic deposits, is from 1936. Carbon dating (using carbon 14) is recorded from 1958. Carbon cycle is attested from 1912. Carbon footprint was in use by 2001. Carbon paper (soon to be obsolete) is from 1895.
chlorine (n.): nonmetallic element, the name coined 1810 by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) from Latinized form of Greek khloros "pale green" (see Chloe) + chemical suffix -ine (2). Named for its color. Discovered 1774, but known at first as oxymuriatic acid gas, or dephlogisticated marine acid.
chrome (n.): 1800, "chromium," from French chrome, the name proposed by Fourcroy and Haüy for a new element, from Greek khroma "color" (see chroma); so called because it makes colorful compounds. The name was given to the metallic element now known as chromium (which had been isolated 1798 by French chemist Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin); it continued in commercial use in English for "chrome steel" (steel with 2 percent or so chrome) after the chemical name was changed internationally. As a short form of chromium plating it dates from 1937. Related: Chromic.
chromium (n.): metallic element, 1807, with metallic elemental suffix -ium + French chrome (Fourcroy and Haüy), from Greek chroma "color" (see chrome; also see chroma). So called for its colorful compounds. Related: Chromite.
cobalt (n.): 1680s, from German kobold "household goblin," Harz Mountains silver miners' term for rock laced with arsenic and sulfur (so called because it degraded the ore and made the miners ill), from Middle High German kobe "hut, shed" + *holt "goblin," from hold "gracious, friendly," a euphemistic word for a troublesome being. The metallic element was extracted from this rock. It was known to Paracelsus, but discovery is usually credited to the Swede George Brandt (1733), who gave it the name. Extended to a blue color 1835 (a mineral containing it had been used as a blue coloring for glass since 16c.). Compare nickel.
copper (n.1): malleable metallic element, Old English coper, from Proto-Germanic *kupar (cognates: Middle Dutch koper, Old Norse koparr, Old High German kupfar), from Late Latin cuprum, contraction of Latin Cyprium (aes) "Cyprian (metal)," after Greek Kyprios "Cyprus" (see Cyprus).

Latin aes originally was "copper," but this was extended to its alloy with tin, bronze, and as this was far more extensively used than pure copper, the word's primary sense shifted to the alloy and a new word evolved for "copper," from the Latin form of the name of the island of Cyprus, where copper was mined. Aes passed into Germanic (which originally did not distinguish copper from its alloys) and became English ore. In Latin, aes was the common word for "cash, coin, debt, wages" in many figurative expressions. Chemical symbol Cu is from cuprum.
dysprosium (n.): element, obtained 1906 from an earth discovered in 1886, the last to be extracted from the complex earth called yttria, and named dysprosia in reference to the difficulty of obtaining it, from Greek dysprositos "hard to get at, difficult of access," from dys- "bad" (see dys-) + prositos "approachable." With metallic element suffix -ium.
erbium (n.): 1843, coined in Modern Latin with metallic element name -ium + erbia, name given by Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander (1797-1858), who discovered it, from second element in Ytterby, name of a town in Sweden where mineral containing it was found (see Ytterbium).
fluorine (n.): non-metallic element, 1813, coined by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) from fluorspar ("calcium fluoride," modern fluorite), the late 18c. name of the mineral where it was first found (see fluor) + chemical suffix -ine (2). Not isolated until 1886. Related: Fluorinate; fluorination.
gadolinium (n.): metallic element, with element ending -ium + gadolinia, an earth named 1886 by J.C. Marginac in honor of Johan Gadolin (1760-1852), Finnish mineralogist and chemist, who in 1794 first began investigation of the earth (subsequently called gadolinite, 1802) which eventually yielded this element and several others.
lithium (n.): silver-white metallic element, 1818, with element ending -ium + lithia, Modern Latin name given by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) to the earth from which it was extracted, from Greek lithos "stone" (see litho-). So called from its mineral origin and to distinguish it from two previously known alkalis of vegetable origin.
magnesium (n.): silvery-white metallic element, 1808, coined by English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) from white magnesia (q.v.), in which it was found, + chemical ending -ium.
Mercury: "the Roman god Mercury," mid-12c., from Latin Mercurius "Mercury," originally a god of tradesmen and thieves, from merx "merchandise" (see market (n.)); or perhaps [Klein, Tucker] from Etruscan and influenced by merx. Later he was associated with Greek Hermes. The planet closest to the sun so called in classical Latin (late 14c. in English). A hypothetical inhabitant of the planet was a Mercurean (1855) or a Mercurian (1868). For the metallic element, see mercury.
mercury (n.): silver-white fluid metallic element, late 14c., from Medieval Latin mercurius, from Latin Mercurius (see Mercury). Prepared from cinnabar, it was one of the seven metals (bodies terrestrial) known to the ancients, which were coupled in astrology and alchemy with the seven known heavenly bodies. This one probably so associated for its mobility. The others were Sun/gold, Moon/silver, Mars/iron, Saturn/lead, Jupiter/tin, Venus/copper. The Greek name for it was hydrargyros "liquid silver," which gives the element its symbol, Hg. Compare quicksilver.
molybdenum (n.): metallic element, 1816, from molybdena, used generally for lead-like minerals, from Greek molybdos "lead," also "black graphite," related to Latin plumbum "lead" (see plumb (n.)), and like it probably borrowed from a lost Mediterranean language, perhaps Iberian. The element so called because of its resemblance to lead ore.
osmium (n.): metallic element, 1803, coined in Modern Latin by its discoverer, English chemist Smithson Tennant (1761-1815) from Greek osme "smell, scent, odor" good or bad (cognate with Latin odor; see odor). So called for the strong smell of its oxide.
palladium (n.2): metallic element, coined 1803 by discoverer William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828), from Pallas, name of an asteroid discovered the previous year (by German astronomer Olbers) and named for the goddess (see Pallas).
platinum (n.): metallic element, 1812, Modern Latin, from Spanish platina "platinum," diminutive of plata "silver," from Old French plate or Old Provençal plata "sheet of metal" (see plate (n.)). The metal looks like silver, and the Spaniards at first thought it an inferior sort of silver, hence the name platina. It was first obtained from Spanish colonies in Mexico and Colombia, brought to Europe in 1735, and identified as an element 1741. Taken into English as platina (c. 1750), it took its modern form (with element ending -ium) in 1812, at the time the names of elements were being regularized. As a shade of blond hair, attested from 1931. As a designation for a recording that has sold at least one million copies, it is attested from 1971.
potassium (n.): metallic element, 1807, coined by English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) from Modern Latin potassa, Latinized form of potash (q.v.). Davy first isolated it from potash. Symbol K is from Latin kalium "potash," from Arabic al-qaliy "the ashes, burnt ashes" (see alkali).
praseodymium (n.): rare metallic element, 1885, coined in Modern Latin by discoverer Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858-1929) from Greek prasios "leek-green" (from prason "leek") + didymos "double," the name given to an earth in 1840, so called because it was a "twin" to lanthana. When didymia was further analyzed in the 1880s, it was found to have several components, one of which was characterized by green salts and named accordingly, with the elemental suffix -ium.
radium (n.): radioactive metallic element, 1899, from French radium, named 1898 after identification by Marie Curie and her husband, formed in Modern Latin from Latin radius "ray" (see radius). So called for its power of emitting energy in the form of rays.
rhodium (n.): hard white metallic element, 1804, Modern Latin, coined by its discoverer, English physician William H. Wollaston (1766-1828), and named for the color of solutions containing it, from Greek rhodon "rose" (see rose (n.1)) + metallic element ending -ium.
ruthenium (n.): metallic element, 1845, named by Russian chemist Karl Klauss, from a name proposed earlier (1828) in reference to a metal extracted from ores from the Ural Mountains of Russia (see Ruthenian).
silicon (n.): nonmetallic element, 1817, coined by British chemist Thomas Thomson from silica (silicon dioxide), from which it was isolated. The name is patterned on carbon, etc. Silicon chip first attested 1965; Silicon Valley for the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, U.S., first attested 1974, from the concentration of manufacturers of silicon chips used in computers, watches, etc.
strontium (n.): light metallic element, 1808, coined in Modern Latin by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) from Strontian, name of a parish in Argyllshire, Scotland, the site of lead mines where strontium was first found, in 1787.
tantalum (n.): metallic element, 1809, Modern Latin, named 1802 by its discoverer, Swedish chemist Anders Ekberg (1767-1813), for Tantalus, according to Ekberg partly because of its inability to absorb acid recalled Tantalus' punishment in the afterlife (see tantalize). Sometimes it is said to be so called from the difficulty scientists faced in obtaining a pure specimen.
technetium (n.): 1947, coined in Modern Latin from Greek tekhnetos "artificial," from tekhne "art, skill, craft" (see techno-) + metallic element ending -ium.
tellurium (n.): metallic element, 1800, coined 1798 in Modern Latin by German chemist and mineralogist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817) from Latin tellus (genitive telluris) "earth" (see tellurian) + -ium.
thallium (n.): rare metallic element, 1861, Modern Latin, from Greek thallos "young shoot, green branch" (see thallus) + element name ending -ium. So called by its discoverer, Sir William Crookes (1832-1919), from the green line in its spectrum by which he detected it. Related: Thallic.
thorium (n.): rare metallic element, 1832, Modern Latin, named by its discoverer, Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) from thorite (silicate of thorium), the name of a mineral found in Norway from which it was extracted (which Berzelius also had named, as thoria, in 1828), and named in honor of the Scandinavian god Thor. With chemical ending -ium.
titanium (n.): metallic element, 1796, Modern Latin, named in 1795 by German chemist and mineralogist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817) from Latin Titan (see titan) as "sons of the earth." He previously had named uranium. A pure specimen was not isolated until 1887.
tungsten (n.): rare metallic element, 1796, from Swedish tungsten "calcium tungstate," coined 1780 by its discoverer, Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) from tung "heavy" + sten "stone" (see stone (n.)). The word was used earlier as the name for calcium tungstate (1770). Atomic symbol W is from Latin wolframium, from German Wolfram "iron tungstate" (see wolfram).
uranium (n.): rare metallic element, 1797, named 1789 in Modern Latin by its discoverer, German chemist and mineralogist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817), for the recently found planet Uranus (q.v.) + element ending -ium.
vanadium (n.): rare metallic element, 1833, named 1830 by Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström (1787-1845), from Old Norse Vanadis, one of the names of the Norse beauty goddess Freyja (perhaps from PIE *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for," which would connect it to Venus); the metal perhaps so called for of its colorful compounds (an earlier name for it was erythronium, for the redness of its salts when heated). Related: Vanadous; vanadious.