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gallium definition

gal·lium (gal′ē əm)

noun

a bluish-white, metallic chemical element, often a supercooled liquid at room temperature, used in semiconductors, LED's, lasers, etc., and as a substitute for mercury in high-temperature thermometers: symbol, Ga; at. no., 31

Etymology: ModL: so named (1875) by P. E. Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), Fr chemist, after L Gallia, France, and as a pun on his name Lecoq (in L, gallus, a cock) + -ium

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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