Meanings
- obsoleteuncountableA rejected name for hafnium.
These various spectra of jargonium are all of a very marked character, quite unlike those due to any other element in similar conditions.
1869 July 2, H. C. Sorby, “On jargonium: a new elementary substance associated with zirconium”, in The Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science2 more examples
In the same year as the jargonium announcement, 1869, Arthur Herbert Church (1834–1915) announced the discovery of a new element associated with zircon.
2014, Marco Fontani, The Lost Elements: The Periodic Table's Shadow SideSorby announced, in 1869, the discovery of a new element – Jargonium – by spectroscopic analysis, but was forced in the following year to withdraw his claim as it was found that the interpretation of the spectrum was more complicated than he had supposed.
2016, A. Meadows, Science and Controversy: A Biography of Sir Norman Lockyer, Founder, page 59
Origin
From jargon + -ium; see jargon (“a variety of zircon”). Doublet of zirconium.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
jargonium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jargonium
“jargonium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jargonium. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jargonium,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jargonium.
Source: jargonium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.