halogen

H4A1L1O1G2E1N1
/ˈhæl.ə.d͡ʒən//ˈheɪ.lə.d͡ʒən/

noun

Any element of group 17, i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, astatine and tennessine.

OriginAncient Greek ἅλς →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounhalogen (plural halogens)

plural halogens

  1. chemistryAny element of group 17, i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, astatine and tennessine.

    Plant 12 also stored super sacks of bromochloro-5,5-dimethylimidazolidine-2,4-dione (BCDMH), which is a granular solid oxidizer with a halogen odor that, in addition to chlorine gas and hydrogen chloride, can also release bromine gas and hydrogen bromide upon decomposition.

    2024 November 28, “Chemical Decomposition, Fire, and Toxic Gas Release at Bio-Lab, Inc.”, in U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board^(https://web.archive.org/web/20250301020605/https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/6/investigation_update_bio-lab_final_nov2024_(005).pdf), archived from the original on 01 Mar 2025, page 2
  2. A light fixture in which the filament is surrounded by an atmosphere of a halogen gas.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἅλς“salt" or "sea”
  2. Englishhalogen

From Ancient Greek ἅλς (háls, “salt" or "sea”) + γεν- (gen-), "to produce" (coined by Berzelius in 1842). By surface analysis, halo- (“salt”) + -gen (“forming”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans halogeen
  • halogeenany element of group 17
Bulgarian халоген
  • халоген (halogen)any element of group 17
Catalan halogen
  • halogenany element of group 17
Chinese Cantonese 鹵素 /卤素, 鹵族 /卤族
  • 鹵素 /卤素 (lou⁵ sou³)any element of group 17
  • 鹵族 /卤族 (lou⁵ zuk⁶)any element of group 17
Chinese Mandarin 鹵素 /卤素, 鹵族 /卤族
  • 鹵素 /卤素 (lǔsù)any element of group 17
  • 鹵族 /卤族 (lǔzú)any element of group 17
Czech halogen
  • halogenany element of group 17
Dutch halogeen
  • halogeenany element of group 17
Esperanto halogeno
  • halogenoany element of group 17
Estonian halogeen
  • halogeenany element of group 17
Finnish halogeeni
  • halogeeniany element of group 17
French halogène
  • halogèneany element of group 17
German Halogen
  • Halogenany element of group 17
Greek αλογόνο
  • αλογόνο (alogóno)any element of group 17
Hungarian halogén
  • halogénany element of group 17
Italian alogeno
  • alogenoany element of group 17
Japanese ハロゲン
  • ハロゲン (harogen)any element of group 17
Korean 할로젠, 할로겐
  • 할로젠 (hallojen)any element of group 17
  • 할로겐 (hallogen)any element of group 17
Latin halogenus
  • halogenusany element of group 17
Latvian halogēni, sāļraži
  • halogēniany element of group 17
  • sāļražiany element of group 17
Māori whāpāhare, kōnakonako
  • whāpāhareany element of group 17
  • kōnakonakoa light fixture
Norwegian Bokmål halogen
  • halogenany element of group 17
Persian هالوژن
  • هالوژن (hâložen)any element of group 17
Polish halogen, fluorowiec
  • halogenany element of group 17
  • fluorowiecany element of group 17
Portuguese halogênio
  • halogênioany element of group 17
Romanian halogen
  • halogenany element of group 17
Russian галоге́н
  • галоге́н (galogén)any element of group 17
Spanish halógeno
  • halógenoany element of group 17
Thai แฮโลเจน
  • แฮโลเจนany element of group 17
Turkish halojen
  • halojenany element of group 17
Ukrainian галоґе́н, галоге́н
  • галоґе́н (halogén)any element of group 17
  • галоге́н (halohén)any element of group 17
Vietnamese halôgen
  • halôgenany element of group 17
Cite this entry
APA

halogen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halogen

MLA

“halogen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halogen. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “halogen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halogen.

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