A further two are named after dwarf plants (Pluto and Ceres), while one after a star (helium from the Greek for the sun - Helios) and another after an asteroid (Pallas) feature on the periodic table.įive elements are named after other elements: molybdenium is from the Greek for lead, molybdos, while platinum comes from the Spanish platina meaning “little silver”. Some 14 elements have had eka names including our four new additions which before their discovery were known as eka-thallium, eka-bismuth, eka-astitine and eka-radon.įour of the elements are named after planets (Earth – in the form of tellurium, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus). Similarly, rhenium was known as dvi-manganese until 1926. Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev first used this nomenclature to fill in the gaps in his early periodic table, so element number 32 was known as eka-silicon until it was discovered and named germanium in 1886.
Eka- is used to denote an element directly below another in the table, dvi- is for an element two rows down and tri- is three rows beneath. Three sanskit words – eka, dvi and tri, meaning one, two and three – were prefixed to elements and used as provisional names for those that had yet to be discovered. France also appears twice on the periodic table in the form of francium and gallium (from Gaul) and its capital city, Paris, gets a mention (in the form of lutetium). Bromine means “stench” and osmium means “smells”. Andy Bruning, Compound Interest, Author provided The Periodic Table of Elements’ Etymology. Instead IUPAC have followed their rules which stipulate that “elements are named after a mythological concept or character (including an astronomical object) a mineral, or similar substance a place or geographical region a property of the element or a scientist”. Alas, those calling for names in tribute to great folk of popular culture have gone unheeded Octarine (the colour of magic, according to Terry Pratchett), Ziggium (in tribute to David Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust) and Severium (in tribute to Alan Rickman and via Severus Snape) will not adorn the updated table. And “oganesson” is named after the Russian-American physicist Yuri Oganessian, who helped discover them.Īfter years of having to make do with temporary monikers while the elements were officially being added to the periodic table and evaluated by the IUPAC, these new names are much welcomed by scientists. The three former elements are named after the regions where they were discovered (and Nihonium references Nihon the Japanese name for Japan).
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