Etymology

protactinium

P3R1O1T1A1C3T1I1N1I1U1M3

Today it means: A chemical element (symbol Pa) with atomic number 91. A dense, silvery-gray actinide metal. Full definition →

English actinium ← French actinium ← Ancient Greek ᾰ̓κτῑ́ς (ăktī́s)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*pró
  4. Ancient Greekπρό (pró)
  5. Ancient Greekπρῶτος (prôtos)
  6. Ancient Greekπρωτο- (prōto-)
  7. Englishproto-
  8. Ancient Greekᾰ̓κτῑ́ς (ăktī́s)
  9. Frenchactino-
  10. Frenchactinium
  11. Englishactinium
  12. English todayprotactinium

From proto- + actinium.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.