Signature Assignment - The Language of Chemistry

Most individuals, when asked about chemistry will call it difficult and hard to understand.

This is mainly because they do not understand the language of chemistry. The building blocks

that make up the language of chemistry are the elements themselves. This is evident in how

elements are assembled and organized to create the world around us. At times this language

can​ be confusing and hard to understand. But by understanding the rules that govern the nature

of creation one can have a better understanding of the world around us. One way to increase

that understanding is to understand the language of the elements, what the words mean, and

where their symbols come from. Because the periodic table is full of elements from different

languages, this too can seem daunting. Here is a small break down of some of the more

confusing bits.

Sodium has the symbol Na. While this may seem unrelated to its name, it actually comes

from the Latin name for sodium, ‘natrium’. This Latin name, however, has been further derived

from the Greek word for sodium carbonate, ‘nitron’, and the Arabic word, ‘natrun’ (Compound

Interest, 2016).

Potassium has the symbol K, but potassium does not start with K. The Latin name,

‘kalium’, does. This too has an Arabic root, as the word comes from ‘al qaliy,’ or “calcined

ashes” (Compound Interest, 2016). ‘Potassium’ comes from the English word ‘potash,’ from

which potassium was first isolated (The Element Potassium 2019).

Iron has many names in many languages, hundreds even. This is due to it being known

and used by many since prehistoric times. But it’s from its Latin name, ‘ferrum’, that it gets its

symbol, Fe (Compound Interest 2016).

Copper has the symbol Cu. This comes from the word ‘cuprum,’ which was in turn

simplified from the Latin name for the island of Cyprus, ‘cyprium.’ This name was in turn taken
from the Greek ‘kypros.’ This is because Cyprus was once famous for its copper reserves

(Compound Interest, 2016).

Silver’s symbol, Ag, comes from its Latin name, ‘argentum.’ This, and the Greek word,

‘argyros,’ have Indo-European roots from the word ‘arg-u-ro.’ This element too has many names

due to its long history of usage (Van der Krogt, 2016). The country of Argentina is named after

this metal and is the only place to be named after an element (Compound Interest, 2016).

The element tin has the symbol Sn. This comes from tin’s Latin name, ‘stannum,’ but

that’s as far as we know for sure. It may have derived from the Indo-European word ‘stag,’

which means “dripping”. This could be in reference to tin’s low melting point. However, there is

also the argument that it comes from Cornish ‘stean,’ due to their tin mines, but others believe

the Latin word came before this (Compound Interest, 2016).

The symbol for antimony, Sb, also comes from Latin. The Latin word ‘stibium’ comes

from the Greek word for eye paint, ‘stibi.’ This is because antimony was frequently used in

ancient eye cosmetics (Compound Interest, 2016). Though the most common name for

antimony is ‘antimonium’ the symbol Sb for ‘stibium’ was used in an early essay and it stuck

(Van der Krogt, 2016).

Tungsten has the symbol W, for ‘wolfram’. Tungsten acquired this name from the mineral

it was found in, ‘wolframite.’ This is from a German word meaning “wolf’s foam,” likely due to the

amount of tin required for the metal to be extracted. While ‘wolfram’ is still in use in several

languages, the Swedish ‘tungsten’ or “heavy stone” was chosen (Compound Interest, 2016).

Gold’s Latin name, ‘aurum,’ is responsible for gold’s symbol, Au. ‘Aurum’ means “yellow”

and comes from the word for “dawn,” ‘aurora.’ Germanic languages use ‘gold,’ but many other

European languages use words stemming from ‘aurum’ (Compound Interest, 2016).
 Mercury’s symbol is Hg, and it comes from its second Latin name. Its first Latin name

was ‘argentum vivum,’ or “living silver,” but Latin later replaced this word in favor of

‘hydrargyrum.’ This word comes from the Greek word for “liquid silver,” ‘hydrargyros.’ The name

Mercury comes from the alchemists, who considered the metal close to gold and so named it

after the planet closest to the sun (Compound Interest, 2016).

Lead has the symbol Pb. This comes from its Latin name, ‘plumbum.’ We don’t know

where it comes from beyond that (Compound Interest 2016). It is likely from a language before

Ancient Greek from the Aegeic area. Lead has been around since ancient times and has many

names (Van der Krogt, 2016).

While all the multiple names for the same element, and seemingly mismatched names

and symbols can be confusing, taking the time to understand them will increase one’s ability to

read the language of chemistry. This will, in turn, open doorways of understanding into many

scientific disciplines.
 Works Cited

Compound Interest (2016). ​Element Oddities: 11 Confusing Chemical Symbols Explained.

Retrieved from ​https://www.compoundchem.com/2016/02/02/ confusing-elements/

Jefferson Lab (2019). ​The Element Potassium.​ Retrieved from ​https://education.

jlab.org/itselemental/ele019.html

Van der Krogt, Peter (2016). ​The Chemical Elements​. Retrieved from ​https://ele

ments.vanderkrogt.net/list_element.php