tellurium

[ te-loor-ee-uhm ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a rare, lustrous, brittle, crystalline, silver-white element resembling sulfur in its properties, and usually occurring in nature combined with gold, silver, or other metals of high atomic weight: used in the manufacture of alloys and as a coloring agent in glass and ceramics. : Te; : 127.60; : 52; : 6.24.

tellurium

/ tɛˈlʊərɪəm /

noun

1. a brittle silvery-white nonmetallic element occurring both uncombined and in combination with metals: used in alloys of lead and copper and as a semiconductor. Symbol: Te; atomic no: 52; atomic wt: 127.60; valency: 2, 4, or 6; relative density: 6.24; melting pt: 449.57±0.3°C; boiling pt: 988°C

tellurium

/ tĕ-lr′ē-əm /

1. A metalloid element that occurs as either a brittle, shiny, silvery-white crystal or a gray or brown powder. Small amounts of tellurium are used to improve the alloys of various metals. Atomic number 52; atomic weight 127.60; melting point 449.5°C; boiling point 989.8°C; specific gravity 6.24; valence 2, 4, 6.
2. See Periodic Table

Word History and Origins

Origin of tellurium¹

< New Latin (1798), equivalent to Latin tellūr- (stem of tellūs ) earth + -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of tellurium¹

C19: New Latin, from Latin tellūs the earth, formed by analogy with uranium

Example Sentences

The compounds ranged from lithium to aluminum, useful in things like batteries and airplane parts, and from tellurium to titanium, which go in objects like semiconductors and metal alloys.

From Popular-Science

Palladium, rhodium and tellurium are also met with as alloys of gold.

From Project Gutenberg

It is also found in some comparatively rare minerals, such as tetradymite, combined with tellurium, and associated with gold.

From Project Gutenberg

The cross in tellurium is identical with that in cadmium, except that the centre is seven-atomed instead of four-atomed.

From Project Gutenberg

Tellurium very closely resembles cadmium, and they are, therefore placed on the same diagram.

From Project Gutenberg

Tellūrif′erous, containing tellurium; Tel′lūrous, pertaining to tellurium.

From Project Gutenberg