Also Palladion a statue of Athena, especially one on the citadel of Troy on which the safety of the city was supposed to depend.
(usually lowercase) anything believed to provide protection or safety; safeguard.
A malleable, ductile, grayish-white metallic element that occurs naturally with platinum. It is used as a catalyst in hydrogenation and in alloys for making electrical contacts and jewelry. Atomic number 46; atomic weight 106.4; melting point 1,552°C; boiling point 3,140°C; specific gravity 12.02 (20°C); valence 2, 3, 4.
See Periodic Table
Special use of Palladium; named (1803) after the asteroid Pallas, then newly discovered; see -ium
< Latin Palladium < Greek Palládion, noun use of neuter of Palládios of Pallas, equivalent to Pallad- (stem of Pallás ) Pallas + -ios adj. suffix
Palladium is an extremely valuable precious metal. Closely related to platinum, palladium is also silvery-white and shiny. When William Hyde Wollaston discovered palladium in 1803, he named it after one of the largest known asteroids, Pallas. Earlier, the word had been used to mean "a source of protection," inspired by the Greek goddess Athena, who was commonly referred to as Pallas. The precious metal shares chemical properties with many others, and it's used to clean the exhaust from cars, as well as in jewelry and electronics.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The team found that phosphite, a form of phosphorus naturally found in hydrothermal vents, can react with organic compounds in the presence of palladium and produce reactions associated with metabolic phosphorylation.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
The scientists first compared several metal nanocatalysts, including silver, cobalt, palladium, and platinum.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Catalytic converters need rare elements like palladium and platinum, precious metals more at home in a jewelry box than in a car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Dead batteries yield lithium, cobalt and nickel; LED screens contain germanium; circuit boards hold platinum and palladium; hard disks store rare earths -- e‑waste has long been described as a "gold mine" for critical minerals.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
And this it was that made the trial by jury the palladium of their liberties.
From An Essay on the Trial by Jury by Lysander Spooner
She also played Jacqueline in the original London cast of La Cage Aux Folles at the London Palladium in 1986.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The Sex Pistols headlining the Palladium in New York City or the Agora in Cleveland wouldn’t have made splashy headlines.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
He had been slated to play King Herod in a London Palladium production from Aug. 3-15.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
This Palladium set is your biggest hometown show in your two decades as a band.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
They had in fact seen a matinee pantomime at the London Palladium during which Lola had spilled a strawberry drink down her frock, and Liberty’s was right across the street.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The most appealing part of the package is a new documentary, R.E.M. by MTV, culled from the material and directed by Alex Young, which will also air on Palladia and VH1 Classic.
From BusinessWeek ● Nov. 26, 2014
TV rights to air "This Is It" on its MTV and BET family of networks -- including VH1 and Palladia, as well as MTV and BET -- for six years.
From Reuters ● Jun. 21, 2010
Palladia was a master at building churches, convents and palaces.
From Time Magazine Archive
There also exists a set of small Mycenaean relics called Palladia, found at Mycenae, Spata and in the earliest strata of the Acropolis at Athens.
From Homer and His Age by Andrew Lang
It contained a Rajputana parrakeet, not much larger than a robin, but possessor of a soul as fierce as that of Palladia, minus, however, the smoothing influence of chivalry.
From Parrot & Co. by Harold MacGrath
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
