fluorine

Forms

fluorine f (plural fluorines)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French fluor + -ine, the base here being the old name of a group of minerals.^[2][3][4] The GLLF calls it a learned derivative.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Omalius d'Halloy uses it in 1833 in his Introduction à la géologie, beside the older names spath fluor and chaux fluatée.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense of natural calcium fluoride.^[2][4] The Goncourt brothers in 1867 list the yellows of fluorines among the colours of crystals, and Marie Curie in 1934 notes that some strongly coloured fluorines show thermoluminescence; by extension the word is also used for artificial calcium fluoride.^[2] Littré adds a chemical sense, now gone: a name sometimes given to the supposed radical of fluorine.^[7] The Petit Robert gives fluorite as another name for the mineral.^[4]

Timeline

• 1833 – First recorded in Omalius d'Halloy's Introduction à la géologie.^[2][6]
• 1867 – The Goncourt brothers mention the yellows of fluorines.^[2]
• 1934 – Marie Curie writes of the thermoluminescence of coloured fluorines.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (mineralogy) Natural calcium fluoride, fluorite, used as a flux in metallurgy; also called spath fluor.^[2][5][4][8]
2. By extension, calcium fluoride in general, including the artificial compound.^[2]
3. (chemistry, obsolete) A name sometimes given to the supposed radical of fluorine.^[7]

Related words

• fluor
• fluorite
• fluoré

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)