cerium
A chemical element with an atomic number of 58, a very soft, ductile, silvery-white…A chemical element (symbol Ce) with an atomic number of 58, a very soft, ductile, silvery-white metal that tarnishes when exposed to air.
Meaning
1 senses(uncountable, usually)A chemical element (symbol Ce) with an atomic number of 58, a very soft, ductile, silvery-white metal that tarnishes when exposed to air.
Cer
це́рийcérij
це́рійcérij
- a ductile grey metallic element of the lanthanide series; used in lighter flints; the most abundant of the rare-earth group
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Ceres (a famous asteroid and dwarf planet), + -ium. The element was discovered and naFrom Ceres (a famous asteroid and dwarf planet), + -ium. The element was discovered and named in 1803. It was named after the asteroid, which had been discovered recently (1801) and had been named after Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. This was during an era when asteroids were culturally exciting things that humans were just beginning to understand properly in astronomical terms, and the era also featured a fascination with neoclassical themes and thus naming things after icons of ancient Greek and Roman mythology and literature.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: ceriumsSynonyms
2 synonyms- a ductile grey metallic element of the lanthanide series; used in lighter flints; the most abundant of the rare-earth group:Ceatomic number 58
Word family
21 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable