radium
UK /ˈɹeɪ.dɪ.əm/ · US /ˈɹeɪ.di.əm/ noun, verb
Forms radiums radiuming radiumed
- noun (chemistry) The chemical element (symbol Ra) with an atomic number of 88. It is a soft, shiny and silvery radioactive alkaline earth metal.
- noun (countable) An atom of this element.
- noun (textiles, dated) A type of cloth woven from silk or synthetic yarn, often with a shiny appearance.
- verb (ambitransitive, obsolete) To treat (a tumour, etc.) with radium.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French radium, from rad(ioactif) (“radioactive”) + -ium (suffix used to form the names of metallic elements).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An intensely radioactive metallic element found (combined) in minute quantities in pitchblende, and various other uranium minerals.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “radium”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details