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Webster's New World College Dictionary » zirconium
zirconium
zirconium definition
zir·co·nium (zər kō′nē əm)
noun
a hard, ductile, gray or black, metallic chemical element found combined in zircon, etc., and used in alloys, ceramics, the cladding for nuclear fuel in reactors, etc.: symbol, Zr; at. no., 40
see the periodic table of elements in the Reference Supplement
Etymology: ModL < zirconia + -ium: name proposed (1808) by Sir Humphry Davy for element later isolated (1824) by Baron Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Related Forms:
- zirconic zir·con′ic (-kän′ik) adjective
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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