Etymology

osmium

O1S1M3I1U1M3

Today it means: A chemical element (symbol Os) with atomic number 76: a hard, brittle, heavy, bluish-white transition metal found as a trace element in alloys, mostly in platinum ores. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ὀσμή (osmḗ) ← Proto-Hellenic *ód͏̌d͏̌ō ← Proto-Indo-European *h₃édyeti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édyeti
  3. Proto-Hellenic*ód͏̌d͏̌ō
  4. Ancient Greekὄζω (ózō)
  5. Ancient Greekὀσμή (osmḗ)
  6. English todayosmium

From Ancient Greek ὀσμή (osmḗ, “smell”) (because of the strong smell of its oxide) + -ium.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekὀσμή all →

osmanthuseuosmiteosmazomeosmeterium-osmiaosmicosmidrosisosmo-phantosmia

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.