wolfram

[ wool-fruhm, vawl- ]

noun
  1. Chemistry. tungsten.

  2. Mineralogy. wolframite.

Origin of wolfram

1
1750–60; <German Wolfram originally, wolframite, probably equivalent to Wolfwolf + -ram, representing Middle High German rām soot, dirt; formed on the model of personal names with initial Wolf-, as a contemptuous epithet for the mineral, which was considered worthless in comparison with tin ores, with which it is often found

Words Nearby wolfram

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wolfram in a sentence

  • The question then is, where did wolfram really find those portions of his poems which he could not have drawn from Chrêtien?

    Parzival (vol. 1 of 2) | Wolfram von Eschenback
  • Chrêtien, however, does not give either the first two or the last three books as we find them in wolfram.

    Parzival (vol. 1 of 2) | Wolfram von Eschenback
  • But whence wolfram derived his idea of the Grail is a problem which it is to be feared will never now be completely solved.

    Parzival (vol. 1 of 2) | Wolfram von Eschenback
  • wolfram stands up first and praises a mild platonic attachment as being true love, and his sentiments win much applause.

    Richard Wagner | John F. Runciman
  • In the absence of any definite knowledge as to wolfram's source it is not possible to do more than suggest possible derivations.

    Parzival (vol. 1 of 2) | Wolfram von Eschenback

British Dictionary definitions for wolfram

wolfram

/ (ˈwʊlfrəm) /


noun
  1. another name for tungsten

Origin of wolfram

1
C18: from German, originally perhaps from the proper name, Wolfram, used pejoratively of tungsten because it was thought inferior to tin

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

Scientific definitions for wolfram

wolfram

[ wulfrəm ]


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.