magnesia English · revision 1220

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌmæɡˈniʒə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''magnasia'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD) [[der|la-med|magnesia]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|Μαγνησία|tr=Magnēsía]], short for ''Magnēsía líthos'' “the Magnesian stone”, the [[lodestone]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) named after Magnesia in Thessaly.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary instead names the city of Magnesia in Asia Minor,^(AHD) and Merriam-Webster derives the chemical sense from New Latin ''magnes carneus'' “flesh magnet”, a white earth.^(MW Collegiate) It is related to [[magnet]].^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In alchemy, a mineral held to be one of the ingredients of the [[philosopher's stone]] (about 1395, or about 1386 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In ancient times the same word was used for lodestone and for a black mineral used to clear glass, now called manganese dioxide;^(Etymonline) English ''magnesia'' meant manganese from 1677.^(OED 1989) In the 18th century a white powder sold in Rome as ''magnesia alba'' was used in medicine and cosmetics,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in modern chemistry the name was fixed on magnesium oxide (1755).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) Davy isolated the metal [[magnesium]] from it in 1808.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1386–95 – an alchemical mineral.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1677 – manganese, “black magnesia”.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1755 – magnesium oxide.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1808 – Davy isolates magnesium from it.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[magnesium|alt=Magnesium]] [[oxide]], a white powder used in medicine as an [[antacid]] and [[laxative]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Hydrated magnesium [[carbonate]], a white powder long called magnesia in everyday use.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[magnesian]]

+ * [[magnesite]]

+ * [[magnesium]]

+ * [[milk of magnesia]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[magnet]]

+ * [[manganese]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}