magnesium

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin magnesium,^[2][3][4] formed from Medieval Latin magnesia, the white alkaline earth magnesia in which the metal was found, and the chemical suffix -ium.^{[2][3][5][6][7]} The Medieval Latin word comes from Ancient Greek Μαγνησία (Magnēsía, “the Magnesian (stone)”), after Magnesia, a region of Thessaly,^[3][5][8][9] and is related to magnet and manganese.^[5][8] The Latin name was used by T. Bergman in 1775, and French magnésium is recorded from 1780, both for the element now called manganese.^[2] The OED finds Berzelius the first to use the name for the present element, in 1811, and Humphry Davy in English in 1812.^[2][3] Etymonline says that Davy coined the word in 1808,^[5] while Barnhart says that Davy used it for manganese in 1808 before applying it to the new metal.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The element manganese, or a manganese mineral: 1781, in a letter of J. Black.^[2] This sense was obsolete by 1823.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The name moved from manganese to the metal obtained from magnesia in the early 19th century; the OED's first record of the modern sense is Davy's Elements of Chemical Philosophy (1812).^[2][3][4] The bright white flame of the burning metal led to its use in flashbulbs, flares and fireworks, and its lightness to its use in alloys.^[10][2]

Timeline

• 1775 – magnesium in Bergman's Latin.^[2]
• 1781 – the element manganese (obsolete by 1823).^[2]
• 1808 – used by Davy.^[5][3]
• 1811 – Berzelius applies the name to the present element.^[2]
• 1812 – the metallic element, in Davy's Elements of Chemical Philosophy.^[2][3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A light, silvery-white metallic chemical element of the alkaline earth group, atomic number 12, symbol Mg, which burns with a brilliant white flame and is used in light alloys, flares and fireworks.^[10][4][2]
2. (obsolete, 1781–1823) The element manganese.^[2][6]

Word family

• magnesium carbonate
• magnesium chloride
• magnesium hydroxide
• magnesium light
• magnesium oxide

Related words

• magnalium
• Magnesia
• magnesite
• mag wheel
• magnet
• manganese

Usage notes

The first edition of the OED (1904) gave the pronunciations /mæɡˈniːsɪəm/ and /mæɡˈniːʃ(ɪ)əm/;^[2] Merriam-Webster and Barnhart also record a pronunciation with /ʒ/.^[4][3]

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 o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins