Back to all words

Lithium

2 stages from Greek to English.

Today it means a soft, light, silvery-white metallic element used in batteries and medicine
1
Stage 1 of 2
lithos
Greek · ancient
"a stone"
stone, since the element was discovered in a mineral rather than plant sources like related elements
2
Stage 2 of 2
lithium
English · 1818
"a soft, light, reactive silvery metal"
coined by chemists to distinguish the mineral-derived alkali metal
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom