vanadium

[ vuh-ney-dee-uh m ]

/ vəˈneɪ di əm /

noun Chemistry.

a rare element occurring in certain minerals and obtained as a light-gray powder with a silvery luster or as a ductile metal: used as an ingredient of steel to toughen it and increase its shock resistance. Symbol: V; atomic weight: 50.942; atomic number: 23; specific gravity: 5.96.

Nearby words

Origin of vanadium

< New Latin (1830) < Icelandic Vanad(ís) epithet of Freya (Vana, genitive of Vanir Vanir + dís goddess) + New Latin -ium -ium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vanadium

Vanadium as an alloy increases the elastic limit, making the steel stronger, tougher and harder.
Oxy-Acetylene Welding and Cutting|Harold P. Manly
Chemically related to vanadium are the two elements tantalum and columbium or niobium.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various
An easier method is by passing dry chlorine over the sesquioxide of vanadium.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
Roscoelite is a vanadium mica from a gold mine at Granite creek, California.
The Galaxy|Various

Vanadium is used mainly in steel, to which it gives great toughness and torsional strength.
The Economic Aspect of Geology|C. K. Leith

British Dictionary definitions for vanadium

vanadium

/ (vəˈneɪdɪəm) /

noun

a toxic silvery-white metallic element occurring chiefly in carnotite and vanadinite and used in steel alloys, high-speed tools, and as a catalyst. Symbol: V; atomic no: 23; atomic wt: 50.9415; valency: 2–5; relative density: 6.11; melting pt: 1910±10°C; boiling pt: 3409°C

Word Origin for vanadium

C19: New Latin, from Old Norse Vanadis, epithet of the goddess Freya + -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

Word Origin and History for vanadium

vanadium

rare metallic element, 1833, named 1830 by Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström (1787-1845), from Old Norse Vanadis, one of the names of the Norse beauty goddess Freyja (see Freya), perhaps because of its colorful compounds.

Medicine definitions for vanadium

vanadium

[ və-nā′dē-əm ]

n. Symbol V

A soft ductile metallic element, used in rust-resistant high-speed tools, as a carbon stabilizer in some steels, and as a catalyst. Atomic number 23.

Science definitions for vanadium

vanadium

[ və-nā′dē-əm ]

V

A soft, bright-white metallic element that occurs naturally in several minerals. It has good structural strength and is used especially to make strong varieties of steel. Atomic number 23; atomic weight 50.942; melting point 1,890°C; boiling point 3,000°C; specific gravity 6.11; valence 2, 3, 4, 5. See Periodic Table.