periodic law

[ peer-ee-od-ik, peer- ]

/ ˈpɪər iˈɒd ɪk, ˌpɪər- /

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noun Chemistry.

the law that the properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.

Also called Mendeleev's law. (originally) the statement that the chemical and physical properties of the elements recur periodically when the elements are arranged in the order of their atomic weights.

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Origin of periodic law

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby periodic law

periodically, periodic attractor, periodic decimal, periodic function, periodicity, periodic law, periodic motion, periodic sentence, periodic system, periodic table, periodic table of the elements

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use periodic law in a sentence

Unless there is a court decision that changes our law, we are OK.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Submission is set in a France seven years from now that is dominated by a Muslim president intent on imposing Islamic law.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A few days later, Bush replied, “We will uphold the law in Florida.”
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To those who agreed with him, Bush pledged that the law against same-sex marriage would remain intact.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

In Israel, however, a new law took effect January 1st that banned the use of underweight models.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We should have to admit that the new law does little or nothing to relieve such a situation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
To Harrison and his wife there was no distinction between the executive and judicial branches of the law.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
Children's Ways|James Sully
These schools became affiliated Universities, but never equalled the Law University in importance.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for periodic law

periodic law

/ (ˌpɪərɪˈɒdɪk) /

noun

Also called: Mendeleev's law the principle that the chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic weights or, more accurately, of their atomic numbers

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