lithium

Etymology

It is formed from English lithia + -ium, with the ending of the names of chemical elements.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} lithia, the oxide of the metal, is from New Latin lithia, an alteration of lithion after soda and potassa.^[2] That name was made as if from Ancient Greek λίθειον (lítheion), the neuter of λίθειος (lítheios, “stony”), from λίθος (líthos, “stone”).^[2][6] Berzelius proposed it in 1818 for the alkali that Arfwedson had discovered in 1817, to mark its mineral origin, since the two alkalis known before were of vegetable origin.^[2][6][7] Barnhart takes the element's name directly as New Latin, from the Greek word and the suffix,^[7] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com from lith- and -ium,^[8][9] and Collins from litho-.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The metallic element of the alkaline group found in small amounts in various minerals: 1818, in the Quarterly Journal of Science & Arts, where lithia is recorded on the page before.^[2][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The element was named in 1818, a year after its discovery,^[7][2] and the older name lithion remained in use for the oxide until about 1856.^[2] From 1893 lithia was also short for lithia water, a mineral water containing lithium salts.^[2] The American Heritage Dictionary also uses lithium for any of several salts of the metal, especially lithium carbonate.^[5]

Timeline

• 1817 – the alkali is discovered by Arfwedson.^[7][2]
• 1818 – lithion and lithia, the oxide.^[2]
• 1818 – lithium, the metal.^[2][6][7][8]
• 1856 – last record of lithion.^[2]
• 1893 – lithia, short for lithia water.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A soft, silvery, highly reactive chemical element of the alkali metal group, the lightest metal known, used in batteries and alloys (symbol Li, atomic number 3).^{[10][8][5][2]}
2. Any of several salts of this metal, especially lithium carbonate.^[5]

Word family

• lithium carbonate

Related words

• lithia
• lithic
• lith-
• litho-
• -lite
• -lith
• lithograph
• monolith

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins