didymium

[dahy-dim-ee-uh m, di-]

noun Chemistry.

a mixture of neodymium and praseodymium, formerly thought to be an element. Symbol: Di

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for didymium

Historical Examples of didymium

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

a mixture of the metallic rare earths neodymium and praseodymium, once thought to be an element

a mixture of rare earths and their oxides used in colouring glass

Word Origin for didymium

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