a toxic silvery-white metallic element occurring chiefly in carnotite and vanadinite and used in steel alloys, high-speed tools, and as a catalyst. Symbol: V; atomic no: 23; atomic wt: 50.9415; valency: 2–5; relative density: 6.11; melting pt: 1910±10°C; boiling pt: 3409°C
Word origin
C19: New Latin, from Old Norse Vanadis, epithet of the goddess Freya + -ium
vanadium in American English
(vəˈneɪdiəm)
noun
a rare, malleable, ductile, silver-white, metallic chemical element: it is alloyed with steel, to which it addstensile strength, and is used in nuclear applications, etc.: symbol, V; at. no., 23
Word origin
ModL < ON Vanadis, Freya + -ium: name proposed (1831) by Berzelius for element discovered independently by N. G. Sefström (1787-1845), Swed chemist,and previously (1801) by A. M. del Rio (1764-1849), Mex metallurgist
Examples of 'vanadium' in a sentence
vanadium
Or else you've had your lungs retrofitted with vanadium steel.