List of chemical element name etymologies

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Notes and References

1. ^ 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 "stibi", which is written in Latin by Celsus and Pliny in the first century AD. Pliny also names "stimi" (sic-m), "larbaris", "alabaster", "very common platyophthalmos", "wide-eye" (means about effect of the cosmetic). In Egyptians hieroglyphics, "" (mśdmt), the vowels are uncertain, but there is an Arabic tradition that "" (mesdemet) (Albright; Sarton, quotes Meyerhof, the translator)
2. ^ Astatine, An earlier name for Astatine was Alabamine (Ab)
3. ^ Beryllium, At one time beryllium was referred to as Glucinium, which from the Greek, "" (glykys), means "sweet", due to the sweet taste of its salts.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} see Naming controversy below
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r} Previous to discovery of some unknown elements, Prof. Dmitri Mendeleev predicted and described most of them appropriately properties, and fill the gaps in the table, on the basis of them position in his Periodic table. The properties of 4 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" (places down from the known element in table), and is sometimes used in discussions about undiscovered elements, such as, Untriennium was referred into Eka-actinium. see also : Mendeleev's predicted elements
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r} Some elements (particularly ancient elements) was associated with Greek (or Roman or others) gods or people, on Greek mythology (or other mythology), and with planets (or others in solar system), such as Mercury (mythology) - Mercury (planet) - Mercury (element), etc.
   Also, astrological symbols (for the planets) (particularly ancient elements) also often used same each ancient alchemical symbols (for the element or its metal).
7. ^ Darmstadtium, some humorous scientists suggested the name Policium, because 110 is the emergency telephone number for the German police.
8. ^ Gold, the Sanskrit of India, "jval". the Greek, "χρυσος" (khrusos). the Chinese, 金 (jīn).
9. ^ Iron, Benvéniste 1969 cit. dep
10. ^ Lead, Lead was mentioned in the Book of Exodus of Bible. Alchemists expect that Lead was the oldest metal and associated the element with Saturn (planet).
11. ^ Mendelevium, "Mendeleyev" commonly spelt as Mendeleev, Mendeléef, or Mendelejeff, and first name sometimes spelt as Dmitry or Dmitriy
12. ^ Mercury, The Indian alchemy called Rassayana, means "the way of mercury".
13. ^ Neodymium, is frequently misspelled as neodynium
14. ^ Nitrogen, Pure gas is inert enough that Antoine Lavoisier referred to it as "Azote", means "without life", so this term has become the French for Nitrogen and later spread out to many other languages.
15. ^ Protactinium, Kasimir Fajans and Otto H. Göhring ,who identified, name the element 91 Brevium from the Latin, "brevis", means "brief, short" in 1913. The name was changed to "Protoactinium" in 1918 and shortened to Protactinium in 1949.
16. ^ Tin, The American Heritage Dictionary

Naming controversy

At the time of its discovery, There was an element naming controversy as to what (particularly) the elements from 101 to 109 were to be called. At last, a committee of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) resolve the dispute and adopte one name. All the way to, adopted a temporary systematic element name.

• About element 41 & 74,
  

Hatchett named element 41 Columbium (Cb), but IUPAC officially adopted Niobium in 1950 after 100 years of controversy. This was a compromise of sorts, the IUPAC accepted, Tungsten instead of Wolfram (in deference to North American usage) and Niobium instead of Columbium (in deference to European usage).

However, while many leading chemical societies and government organizations refer to it by the official IUPAC name, but many leading metallurgists, metal societies, and most leading American commercial producers still refer to the metal by the Columbium (for Niobium), and by the same taken in many countries of Europe, still refer to the metal by the Wolfram (for Tungsten).

• About element 70 & 71,
  

Gadolinite, the mineral (from Ytterby, the village), consist several compounds (the oxides or earths) as Yttria, Erbia (sub-component as Ytterbia) and Terbia.

In 1878 Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac assumed that Ytterbia consist a new element he ahead called Ytterbium. (but actually, there were 2 new elements) In 1907 Georges Urbain isolated element 70 and element 71 from Ytterbia. He called element 70 Neoytterbia (means "new Ytterbium") and called element 71 Lutecia. At about the same time, Carl Auer von Welsbach also independently isolated these and proposed the names Aldebaranium, after the star Aldebaran of Taurus (constellation), for the element 70 (Ytterbium), and Cassiopium, after the Cassiopeia (constellation), for element 71 (Lutetium), but both proposals were rejected.

Latest Neoytterbia (element 70) was eventually reverted back to Ytterbium (follow Marignac) and in 1949 the spelling of Lutetium (element 71) was changed to Lutetium. Although German chemists still call Cassiopium instead of Lutetium.

(Another element, as Yttrium (element 39) and Gadolinium (element 64), was also discovered in Gadolinite and its components. No controversy on its names)

• About element 103,
  

IUPAC ratified the name Lawrencium (Lr) during a meeting in Geneva, the name was preferred by the American Chemical Society.

• About element 104,
  

Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, (U.S.S.R.) named Kurchatovium (K-260). But, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A. named Rutherfordium in honor of Lord Rutherford of Nelson). In 1994 a committee of IUPAC recommended that element 104 be named Rutherfordium.

• About element 105,
  

Joint Nuclear Research Institute in Dubna named Dubnium after Dubna. But, University of California in Berkeley also named Hahnium in honor of Otto Hahn. IUPAC recommended that element 105 be named Dubnium.

• About element 105 & 107,
  

Some suggested the name Nielsbohrium (named in honor of Niels Bohr), others believed this name should be given to element 105 (Dubnium) , the name too like element 107 (Bohrium) . IUPAC adopted Unnilseptium (Uns) as a temporary systematic element name. In 1994 a committee of IUPAC recommended that element 107 be named Bohrium.

While this conforms to the names of other elements honoring individuals, where only the surname is taken, it was opposed by many who were concerned that it could be confused with Boron . Despite this, the name Bohrium for element 107 was recognized internationally in 1997.

• About element 106,
  

The element was discovered almost simultaneously by 2 different laboratories, in June 1974, a Soviet team led by G. N. Flerov at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna reported producing an isotope 111-259, in September 1974, an American research team led by Albert Ghiorso at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley reported creating an isotope 111-263. Because their work was independently confirmed first, the Americans suggested the name Seaborgium to honor of Glenn T. Seaborg, the American chemist. But this name was extremely controversial because Seaborg was still alive.

An international committee decided in 1992 that the Berkeley and Dubna laboratories should share credit for the discovery. An element naming controversy erupted and as a result IUPAC adopted Unnilhexium (Unh) as a temporary, systematic element name.

In 1994 a committee of IUPAC adopted a rule that no element can be named after a living person. This ruling was fiercely objected to by the American Chemical Society.

Critics pointed out that a precedent had been set in the naming of Einsteinium during Albert Einstein's life. In 1997, as part of a compromise involving elements 104 to 108, the name Seaborgium for element 106 was recognized internationally.

• About element 108,
  

IUPAC adopted Unniloctium (Uno) as a temporary, systematic element name. In 1994 a committee of IUPAC recommended that element 108 be named Hassium, and the name was adopted internationally, in 1997.

• About element 109,
  

IUPAC adopted Unnilennium (Une) as a temporary, systematic element name. In 1997 a committee of IUPAC resolved the dispute and adopted be name Meitnerium.

• About element 110,
  

IUPAC adopted Ununnilium (Uun) as a temporary, systematic element name. Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, who discovered, recommended that element 110 be named Darmstadtium In August 2003 a committee of IUPAC adopted the name.

• About element 111,
  

The element has ever been known under the temporary IUPAC systematic element name, Unununium. Some research has referred to it as Eka-gold, means "below Gold ", on hypothesis of Mendeleev's predicted elements. IUPAC accepted the name Roentgenium on November 1 2004.