a malleable ductile steel-grey element of the lanthanide series of metals, used in lighter flints and as a reducing agent in metallurgy. Symbol: Ce; atomic no: 58; atomic wt: 140.115; valency: 3 or 4; relative density: 6.770; melting pt: 798°C; boiling pt: 3443°C
Word origin
C19: New Latin, from Ceres (the asteroid) + -ium
cerium in American English
(ˈsɪriəm)
noun
a gray chemical element, the most abundant of the rare-earth elements: it is used in alloys, electronic components, and nuclear fuels: symbol, Ce; at. no., 58
Word origin
ModL < Ceres + -ium: so named (1804) by its discoverers, Berzelius & W. Hisinger (1766-1852), Swed mineralogists, after the recently discovered asteroid,Ceres