Elements: Names and Symbols

• international symbols

  • first 1-2 distinguishing letters in the name
  • symbols derived from non-English names:

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nitrogen is azoto in Italian, stickstoff in German, but has symbol N everywhere.

cuprum = Latin, ``from Cyprus’’

aurum, ferrum, plumbum, stannum

= Latin; gold, iron, lead and tin are Anglo-Saxon words.

hydragyrum = Latin, “liquid silver”

kalium = Latin, or Arabic qali, alkali. potassium from potash

argentum = Latin, seolfor is Anglo-Saxon.

natrium = Latin, sodium from English “soda” from Arabic “suda”, headache.

tungsten = Swedish tung + sten, heavy stone. wolframite = German.