thallium Definition
thal·lium (t̸hal′ē əm)
noun
a rare, poisonous, bluish-gray, soft, metallic chemical element, used in making photoelectric cells, rat poisons, etc.: symbol, Tl; at. no. 81
Etymology: ModL: so named by Sir William Crookes, its discoverer < Gr thallos, young, green shoot (< thallein: see Thalia) because of its green spectral line
thallium Usage Examples
Adjective modifier
radioactive: Former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko may have been poisoned with " radioactive thallium " , the toxicologist treating him disclosed.
Modifies a noun
- concentration: The proportionally lower thallium concentrations reported for these baby foods compared with previous data on food probably results from the improved LOD.
- poisoning: Another - equally likely - is mild thallium poisoning, whose insidious symptoms include mental disturbances.
Browse dictionary entries near thallium
- ‹ thallic
- ‹ thalidomide
- ‹ Thalia
- ‹ thaler
- ‹ thalassic
- ‹ thalassemia
- ‹ thalamus
- ‹ thalamencephalon
- ‹ Thailand
- ‹ Thai
- thallophyte ›
- thallous ›
- thallus ›
- Thames ›
- than ›
- thanato- ›
- thanatology ›
- thanatophobia ›
- thanatopsis ›
- Thanatos ›

