Etymology

helium

he·li·um
H4E1L1I1U1M3

Today it means: The second-lightest chemical element (symbol He), with an atomic number of 2 and atomic weight of 4.002602, a colorless, odorless and inert noble gas. Full definition →

New Latin helium ← Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios) ← Proto-Hellenic *hāwélios
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sóh₂wl̥
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sh₂wél(i)yos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*hāwélios
  4. Ancient Greekἥλιος (hḗlios)
  5. New Latinhelium
  6. English todayhelium

From New Latin helium, from Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun”) (because its presence was first theorised in the Sun's atmosphere) with the suffix + -ium. Probably coined by Norman Lockyer. This suffix is unusual, because it is usually used only for metallic elements. It is likely that Lockyer, being an astronomer, was unaware of the usual chemical conventions.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekἥλιος all →

helioshelianthophobiahelio-heliodorhelioliteheliometerheliostatheliotypyisohel

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.