Meanings
noundilithium (uncountable)
- especiallyin compoundsuncountablechemistryTwo lithium atoms in a molecule.
- uncountableliteratureA fictional crystalline mineral in the Star Trek franchise, described as an essential component of anti-matter energy generation systems.
“Mr. Mayor, we're back from the dilithium crystal mine.” “What a haul! This will power the colony for months!”
2016 May 2, Jordan Blum & Parker Deay, “The Nova Centauris-burgh Board of Tourism Presents: American Dad” (1:11 from the start), in American Dad!, season 13, episode 141 more example
Fifty years later and it seems like we should—I don’t know if dilithium crystals are out there—but, you know, we should be getting some breakthroughs.
2016 October, Scott Dadich, quoting Barack Obama, “Barack Obama Talks AI, Robo Cars, and the Future of the World”, in Wired, →ISSN
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
- Proto-Indo-European*dwi-
- Proto-Hellenic*dwi-
- Ancient Greekδῐ- (dĭ-)
- Latindi-
- Englishdi-
- Ancient Greekλίθος (líthos)
- New Latinlithium
- Englishlithium
- Englishdilithium
Translations
Finnish dilitium
- dilitiumdiatomic molecule
Italian dilitio, dilitio
- dilitiodiatomic molecule
- dilitiofictional mineral
Swedish dilitium
- dilitiumfictional mineral
Cite this entry
APA
dilithium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilithium
MLA
“dilithium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilithium. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dilithium,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilithium.
Source: dilithium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.