dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio)
-zh(ē-)əm
: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of dysprosium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium are used to build the tiny mechanism that makes your phone vibrate. Vince Beiser, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024 The groups started with gases of dysprosium and erbium atoms, which are intrinsically magnetic enough to act like little bar magnets. Quanta Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024 Phoenix Tailings focuses on extracting neodymium, neodymium-praseodymium alloy, dysprosium, and ferro dysprosium alloy, which are rare earth metals used in permanent magnets for EVs, wind turbines, jet engines and other applications. IEEE Spectrum, 31 May 2024 The aquatic plant contains the elements platinum and rhodium, along with rare-earth elements like neodymium, lanthanum, yttrium and dysprosium. Devika Rao, theweek, 22 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for dysprosium 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Greek dysprósitos "difficult to access" (from dys- dys- + prósitos "approachable," verbal adjective of próseimi, prosiénai "to go toward, approach," from pros- pros- + eîmi, iénai "to go") + New Latin -ium -ium — more at issue entry 1

Note: The element was named by the first person to isolate it, the French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), reported in "Le holmine (ou terre X de M. Soret) contient au moins deux radicaux métalliques," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences, tome 102 (janvier-juin 1886), pp. 1003-04. The name was apparently given because several hundred fractionations ("plusieurs centaines de fractionnements") were required to isolate a sufficient amount of it to test spectroscopically.

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dysprosium was in 1886

Dictionary Entries Near dysprosium

dyspnoea

dysprosium

dysrhythmia

Cite this Entry

“Dysprosium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dysprosium. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

dysprosium

noun
dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio)
-zh(ē-)əm
: a chemical element that forms very magnetic compounds see element

Medical Definition

dysprosium

noun
dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio) -zh(ē-)əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio)
: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds
symbol Dy
see Chemical Elements Table

More from Merriam-Webster on dysprosium

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