Etymologically
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sodium

Etymology and origin of the English word sodium

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Coinage
First attested
1807

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsoʊ.di.əm/; /ˈsəʊ.di.əm/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is New Latin sodium, coined by the English chemist Sir Humphry Davy from soda and -ium,[2][3][4] because he isolated the element from caustic soda (sodium hydroxide).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The alkaline metal element: 1807, the year Davy isolated it.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Its chemical symbol, Na, is from New Latin natrium, a name proposed by Berzelius and coined from natron, a kind of soda.[3] Sodium compounds are named from 1857,[5] and references to the intense yellow light of sodium lamps date from 1888.[5]

Timeline

  • 1807 – sodium.[2][5]
  • 1857 – in names of compounds.[5]
  • 1888 – sodium light.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metallic chemical element of the alkali metal group, found especially in common salt; symbol Na, atomic number 11.
  • soda
  • potassium
  • natron
  • sodium chloride

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Sodium.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/sodium. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·