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rhodium definition

rho·dium (rō′dē əm)

noun

a hard, gray-white metallic chemical element, one of the platinum metals, used in alloys with platinum and gold in thermocouples and as an electrical contact material, and in unalloyed form to electroplate optical instruments, silverware, jewelry, etc.: symbol, Rh; at. no., 45

Etymology: ModL: so named (1804) by its discoverer, W. H. Wollaston (see wollastonite) < Gr rhodon, rose, after the color of a dilute solution of its salts + -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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