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Where does the word "vanadium" come from? It comes from Old Norse Vanadis, and was adopted directly into English (1830).
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Where does the word "vanadium" come from? It comes from Old Norse Vanadis, and was adopted directly into English (1830).
Vanadium’s story begins in Old Norse: Vanadis meant “a name of the goddess Freyja.” Another name for the goddess Freyja, honoring the element's beautifully colored compounds. It reached English by 1830 as vanadium. Named by its discoverer after the Norse goddess. Today, vanadium means a hard, silvery-grey metallic element used to strengthen steel alloys.
- Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval Vanadis "a name of the goddess Freyja", another name for the goddess Freyja, honoring the element's beautifully colored compounds.
- Stage 2 · English · 1830 vanadium "a hard, silvery-grey metallic element", named by its discoverer after the Norse goddess.