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antimony

Etymology and origin of the English word antimony

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæn.tɪ.mə.ni/ (UK); /ˈæn.tɪˌmoʊ.ni/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English antimonie,[2][3] from Old French antimoine[4][5] and from Medieval Latin antimonium,[2][4][5][3][6] a word of obscure origin.[5] It is probably a Latinization of an Arabic word such as al-ʾiṯmid,[2][4][5][6] borrowed from or influenced by Greek stímmi “powdered antimony”, used to paint the eyelids,[2][4][5] and ultimately from Egyptian stm.[4][5] In French it was reshaped by folk etymology as anti-moine “monk's bane”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Black antimony, antimony sulphide, a powder used in medicine and alchemy (about 1425; early 15th century in Etymonline; 1477 in the OED).[4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The substance had been used as an eye cosmetic in Egypt since at least 3000 BCE.[5] As the name of the pure metallic element, earlier called regulus of antimony, the word is recorded from 1788.[5][7] Its chemical symbol Sb is from Latin stibium, the name for black antimony.[5][1]

Timeline

  • 11th century – Medieval Latin antimonium.[5]
  • about 1425 – antimony sulphide.[4][5]
  • 1788 – the chemical element.[5][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A brittle, lustrous, silvery-white metalloid element, used in alloys, semiconductors and flame-retardant compounds; atomic number 51, symbol Sb.
  2. Stibnite, the native sulphide of antimony.

Word family

  • antimonial
  • antimonate
  • antimonic
  • antimonide
  • antimonous
  • antimonyl
  • stibnite

Usage notes

Wiktionary warns against confusing antimony with antinomy, a contradiction or paradox.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Antimony.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/antimony. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·