Origin of Element Symbol | The Elements Handbook at KnowledgeDoor

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Origin of Element Symbol

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Element

Symbol

Origin

Description

Actinium

Ac

actinium

element name

Aluminum

Al

aluminum

element name

Americium

Am

americium

element name

Antimony

Sb

stibium

word—Latin for antimony sulfide (ancient name)

Argon

Ar

argon

element name

Arsenic

As

arsenic

element name

Astatine

At

astatine

element name

Barium

Ba

barium

element name

Berkelium

Bk

berkelium

element name

Beryllium

Be

beryllium

element name

Bismuth

Bi

bismuth

element name

Bohrium

Bh

bohrium

element name

Boron

B

boron

element name

Bromine

Br

bromine

element name

Cadmium

Cd

cadmium

element name

Calcium

Ca

calcium

element name

Californium

Cf

californium

element name

Carbon

C

carbon

element name

Cerium

Ce

cerium

element name

Cesium

Cs

cesium

element name

Chlorine

Cl

chlorine

element name

Chromium

Cr

chromium

element name

Cobalt

Co

cobalt

element name

Copernicium

Cn

copernicium

element name

Copper

Cu

Cuprum

place—Latin for Cyprus

Curium

Cm

curium

element name

Darmstadtium

Ds

darmstadtium

element name

Dubnium

Db

dubnium

element name

Dysprosium

Dy

dysprosium

element name

Einsteinium

Es

einsteinium

element name

Erbium

Er

erbium

element name

Europium

Eu

europium

element name

Fermium

Fm

fermium

element name

Flerovium

Fl

flerovium

element name

Fluorine

F

fluorine

element name

Francium

Fr

francium

element name

Gadolinium

Gd

gadolinium

element name

Gallium

Ga

gallium

element name

Germanium

Ge

germanium

element name

Gold

Au

aurum

word—Latin for glow of sunrise

Hafnium

Hf

hafnium

element name

Hassium

Hs

hassium

element name

Helium

He

helium

element name

Holmium

Ho

holmium

element name

Hydrogen

H

hydrogen

element name

Indium

In

indium

element name

Iodine

I

iodine

element name

Iridium

Ir

iridium

element name

Iron

Fe

ferrum

word—Latin for iron

Krypton

Kr

krypton

element name

Lanthanum

La

lanthanum

element name

Lawrencium

Lr

lawrencium

element name

Lead

Pb

plumbum

word—Latin for lead

Lithium

Li

lithium

element name

Livermorium

Lv

livermorium

element name

Lutetium

Lu

lutetium

element name

Magnesium

Mg

magnesium

element name

Manganese

Mn

manganese

element name

Meitnerium

Mt

meitnerium

element name

Mendelevium

Md

mendelevium

element name

Mercury

Hg

hydrargyrum

word—Latin for liquid silver

Molybdenum

Mo

molybdenum

element name

Moscovium

Mc

moscovium

element name

Neodymium

Nd

neodymium

element name

Neon

Ne

neon

element name

Neptunium

Np

neptunium

element name

Nickel

Ni

nickel

element name

Nihonium

Nh

nihonium

element name

Niobium

Nb

niobium

element name

Nitrogen

N

nitrogen

element name

Nobelium

No

nobelium

element name

Oganesson

Og

oganesson

element name

Osmium

Os

osmium

element name

Oxygen

O

oxygen

element name

Palladium

Pd

palladium

element name

Phosphorus

P

phosphorus

element name

Platinum

Pt

platinum

element name

Plutonium

Pu

plutonium

element name

Polonium

Po

polonium

element name

Potassium

K

kalium

word—Mediaeval Latin for potash

Praseodymium

Pr

praseodymium

element name

Promethium

Pm

promethium

element name

Protactinium

Pa

protactinium

element name

Radium

Ra

radium

element name

Radon

Rn

radon

element name

Rhenium

Re

rhenium

element name

Rhodium

Rh

rhodium

element name

Roentgenium

Rg

roentgenium

element name

Rubidium

Rb

rubidium

element name

Ruthenium

Ru

ruthenium

element name

Rutherfordium

Rf

rutherfordium

element name

Samarium

Sm

samarium

element name

Scandium

Sc

scandium

element name

Seaborgium

Sg

seaborgium

element name

Selenium

Se

selenium

element name

Silicon

Si

silicon

element name

Silver

Ag

argentum

word—Latin for silver

Sodium

Na

natrium

word—Latin for soda

Strontium

Sr

strontium

element name

Sulfur

S

sulfur

element name

Tantalum

Ta

tantalum

element name

Technetium

Tc

technetium

element name

Tellurium

Te

tellurium

element name

Tennessine

Ts

tennessine

element name

Terbium

Tb

terbium

element name

Thallium

Tl

thallium

element name

Thorium

Th

thorium

element name

Thulium

Tm

thulium

element name

Tin

Sn

stannum

word—Latin

Titanium

Ti

titanium

element name

Tungsten

W

wolfram

word—German for wolf dirt

Uranium

U

uranium

element name

Vanadium

V

vanadium

element name

Xenon

Xe

xenon

element name

Ytterbium

Yb

ytterbium

element name

Yttrium

Y

yttrium

element name

Zinc

Zn

zinc

element name

Zirconium

Zr

zirconium

element name

References (Click the next to a value above to see complete citation information for that entry)

Connelly, Neil G., Ture Damhus, Richard M. Hartshorn, and Alan T. Hutton. Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry: IUPAC Recommendations 2005. Cambridge: RSC Publishing, 2005.

de Podesta, Michael. Understanding the Properties of Matter, 2nd edition. London: Taylor & Francis, 2002.

Emsley, John. Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Loss, Robert D., and John Corish. "Names and symbols of the elements with atomic numbers 114 and 116 (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)." Pure and Applied Chemistry, volume 84, number 7, 2012, pp. 1669–1672. doi:10.1351/PAC-REC-11-12-03

Öhrström, Lars, and Jan Reedijk. "Names and symbols of the elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118 (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)." Pure and Applied Chemistry, volume 88, number 12, 2016, pp. 1225–1229. doi:10.1515/pac-2016-0501

Soukhanov, Anne H., editor. The American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language, 3rd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.

Tatsumi, Kazuyuki, and John Corish. "Name and Symbol of the Element with Atomic Number 112 (IUPAC Recommendations 2010)." Pure and Applied Chemistry, volume 82, number 3, 2010, pp. 753–755. doi:10.1351/PAC-REC-09-08-20

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