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Where does the word "calcium" come from? It comes from Latin calx, and was adopted directly into English (1808).
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Where does the word "calcium" come from? It comes from Latin calx, and was adopted directly into English (1808).
Calcium’s story begins in Latin: calx meant “lime, limestone.” Lime, the mineral from which the element was first isolated. It reached English by 1808 as calcium. Coined by chemist Humphry Davy for the metal isolated from lime. Today, calcium means a soft grey metallic element essential to bones, teeth, and many biological processes.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient calx "lime, limestone", lime, the mineral from which the element was first isolated.
- Stage 2 · English · 1808 calcium "a soft grey metallic element essential to bones", coined by chemist Humphry Davy for the metal isolated from lime.