potassium Hear it!

potassium definition

po·tas·sium (pə tas′ē əm)

noun

a soft, silver-white, waxlike metallic chemical element, one of the alkali metals, that oxidizes rapidly when exposed to air: it occurs abundantly in nature in the form of its salts, which are used in fertilizers, glass, etc.: symbol, K; at. no., 19

Etymology: ModL: so named (1807) < potassa < Du potasch, potash, by Humphrey Sir Humphry Davy, who first isolated it from potash

Related Forms:

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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