calcium
/ˈkælsi.əm/ noun
Forms calciums
- noun The chemical element (symbol Ca) with atomic number 20: a soft, silvery-white alkaline earth metal which occurs naturally as carbonate in limestone and as silicate in many rocks.
- noun (countable) An atom of this element.
Synonyms
Etymology
Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1808, from Latin calx (“lime, limestone”) because it occurs in limestone. By surface analysis, calc- + -ium.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An elementary substance; a metal which combined with oxygen forms lime. It is of a pale yellow color, tenacious, and malleable.
Etymology [NL., from L. calx, calcis, lime; cf F. calcium. See Calx.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “calcium”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details