hafnium

H4A1F4N1I1U1M3
/ˈhæfniəm/

noun

A chemical element (symbol Hf) with an atomic number of 72: a lustrous, silvery-grey tetravalent transition metal.

Similar
celtiumkeltiumHfatomic number 72
OriginLatin Hafnia ← Old Danish hafn ← Proto-Germanic *habanō →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nounhafnium (uncountable)
  1. uncountablechemistryA chemical element (symbol Hf) with an atomic number of 72: a lustrous, silvery-grey tetravalent transition metal.

    Synonyms: celtium, keltium

    1. countablechemistryAn atom of this element.

      Synonyms: celtium, keltium

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA chemical element (symbol Hf) with an atomic number of 72: a lustrous, silvery-grey tetravalent transition metal.

Similar
celtiumkeltium

nounAn atom of this element.

Similar
celtiumkeltium

More synonyms by meaning

nouna grey tetravalent metallic element that resembles zirconium chemically and is found in zirconium minerals; used in filaments for its ready emission of electrons

Similar
Hfatomic number 72
Broader
metallic elementmetal

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  2. Proto-Germanic*habanō
  3. Old Norsehǫfn
  4. Proto-Germanic*habanō
  5. Old Danishhafn
  6. LatinHafnia
  7. Englishhafnium

From Latin Hafnia (“Copenhagen”) + -ium, as the element was discovered there

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Arabic هَفْنِيُوم, هَافْنِيُوم
  • هَفْنِيُوم (hafniyūm)chemical element
  • هَافْنِيُوم (hāfniyūm)chemical element
Basque hafnioa
  • hafnioachemical element
Bulgarian ха́фний
  • ха́фний (háfnij)chemical element
Catalan hafni
  • hafnichemical element
Chinese Mandarin 鉿 /铪
  • 鉿 /铪 (hā)chemical element
Czech hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Danish hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Dutch hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Esperanto hafnio
  • hafniochemical element
Estonian hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Finnish hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
French hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
German Hafnium
  • Hafniumchemical element
Greek άφνιο
  • άφνιο (áfnio)chemical element
Hebrew הפניום
  • הפניום (hafniyum)chemical element
Hindi गावातु
  • गावातु (gāvātu)chemical element
Hungarian hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Icelandic hafnín
  • hafnínchemical element
Irish haifniam
  • haifniamchemical element
Italian afnio
  • afniochemical element
Japanese ハフニウム, 鉿
  • ハフニウム (hafuniumu)chemical element
  • 鉿chemical element
Korean 하프늄
  • 하프늄 (hapeunyum)chemical element
Latin hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Latvian hafnijs
  • hafnijschemical element
Lithuanian hafnis
  • hafnischemical element
Malay hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Norwegian hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Polish hafn
  • hafnchemical element
Portuguese háfnio
  • háfniochemical element
Romanian hafniu
  • hafniuchemical element
Russian га́фний
  • га́фний (gáfnij)chemical element
Scottish Gaelic haifniam
  • haifniamchemical element
Slovak hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Spanish hafnio
  • hafniochemical element
Swedish hafnium
  • hafniumchemical element
Tamil ஹப்னியம்
  • ஹப்னியம் (hapṉiyam)chemical element
Thai แฮฟเนียม
  • แฮฟเนียม (hɛ́ɛf-nîiam)chemical element
Turkish hafniyum
  • hafniyumchemical element
Ukrainian га́фній
  • га́фній (háfnij)chemical element
Vietnamese hafini
  • hafinichemical element
Welsh haffniwm
  • haffniwmchemical element
Cite this entry
APA

hafnium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hafnium

MLA

“hafnium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hafnium. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hafnium,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hafnium.

Source: hafnium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.