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didymium

[dahy-dim-ee-uh m, di-]
noun Chemistry.
  1. a mixture of neodymium and praseodymium, formerly thought to be an element. Symbol: Di
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Origin of didymium

< New Latin < Greek dídym(os) twin (see didymous) + -ium; so named by Swedish chemist Carl Mosander (1797–1858), who discovered it in 1843, from its close association with lanthanum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for didymium

Historical Examples

  • Neodymium (Nd) forms the chief portion of the old “didymium.”

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4

    Various

  • It suggests a didymium in its form and habit, but is near a badhamia.

    The North American Slime-Moulds

    Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride

  • The internal structure is essentially that of Diderma or Didymium.

    The North American Slime-Moulds

    Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride

  • This induced Schrader to throw all the didermas into his new genus, Didymium.

    The North American Slime-Moulds

    Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride

  • The spores of Didymium crustaceum were sown upon a heap of leaves in autumn.

    The North American Slime-Moulds

    Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride

British Dictionary definitions for didymium

didymium

noun
  1. a mixture of the metallic rare earths neodymium and praseodymium, once thought to be an element
  2. a mixture of rare earths and their oxides used in colouring glass
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin, from Greek didumos twin + -ium
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012