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vanadium

[vuh-ney-dee-uh m]
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noun Chemistry.
  1. 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.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for vanadium

Historical Examples

  • A good deal of Vanadium alloy is used, and this is made in America.

    A Journey Through France in War Time

    Joseph G. Butler, Jr.

  • It is added in the form of ferrovanadium, carrying 35 to 40 per cent of vanadium.

  • Vanadium steel is used throughout the construction of the car.

  • Roscoelite is a vanadium mica from a gold mine at Granite creek, California.

    The Galaxy

    Various

  • Yet if it had not been for vanadium steel we should have no Ford cars.

    Creative Chemistry

    Edwin E. Slosson

British Dictionary definitions for vanadium

vanadium

noun
  1. 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
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Word Origin

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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
vanadium in Medicine

vanadium

(və-nā′dē-əm)
n. Symbol V
  1. 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.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
vanadium in Science

vanadium

[və-nā′dē-əm]
V
  1. 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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.