aluminum English · revision 10544

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=coinage|attested=1812|origins=la alumen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈluː.mɪ.nəm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined in 1812 by its discoverer, the British chemist Sir Humphry Davy,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) as an alteration of his earlier New Latin alumium (1808),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[alumina]], aluminium oxide, a name given by French chemists in the late 18th century,^(Etymonline) and -ium, a suffix for metals.^(Barnhart 1988) Alumina is from [[m|la|alūmen|t=alum]] (see [[alum]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The metal: 1812 in the OED and Barnhart, 1810 in Merriam-Webster.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The variant [[aluminium]] appeared in 1812 too, as a deliberate change to match other element names such as sodium, potassium and magnesium, all coined earlier by Davy;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) it became the preferred British form, while aluminum remains the American word.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1808 – alumium.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1812 – aluminum; aluminium.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A light, silvery-white metallic [[element]], the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, found chiefly in [[bauxite]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ferroaluminum]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aluminium]]

+ * [[alumina]]

+ * [[alum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}