: a soft silvery metallic element of the rare-earth group see Chemical Elements Table
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe least abundant of these, thulium (Tm) and lutetium (Lu) are 200 times more abundant than gold. Willy Shih, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021 The 794 nm photon interacts with a lithium-niobate crystal doped with thulium, so that the photon’s state becomes stored in the crystal. Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, 19 June 2019 Electronic shielding by closed shells in thulium compounds. Spencer Reiss, WIRED, 1 May 2004
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Latin Thule
First Known Use
1879, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
thulium
noun
thu·li·um ˈth(y)ü-lē-əm
: a trivalent metallic element of the rare-earth group—symbol Tm see Chemical Elements Table