Etymology

thallium

T1H4A1L1L1I1U1M3

Today it means: A metallic chemical element (symbol Tl) with atomic number 81: a gray post-transition metal that discolors when exposed to air. Full definition →

Ancient Greek θαλλός
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromθαλλός“green branch”
  2. English todaythallium

Coined based on Ancient Greek θαλλός (thallós, “green branch”) (after the color of the radiation spectra), + -ium.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekθαλλός all →

thallus

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.