uranium English · revision 15516

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=coinage|attested=1797|origins=grc οὐρανός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌjuː.ˈɹeɪ.ni.əm/; /jʊˈɹeɪniəm/, /ˌjyː.ˈɹəɪ̯.nɪ̝.əm/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[la-new|uranium]], coined in 1789 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[Uranus]], the planet discovered by William Herschel in 1781, and [[-ium]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The planet was named after the Greek god of the heavens, [[la|Ūranus]], from [[grc|Οὐρανός|tr=Ouranós|t=heaven]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The metallic element: 1797 in English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is found in pitchblende.^(Cresswell 2021) The AHD notes that Herschel first called his planet ''Georgium sidus'' after George III, but convention gave it the name of a deity like the other planets: Uranus, father of Saturn.^(AHD) Uranium compounds and ores are named from 1890.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1781 – the planet Uranus discovered.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1789 – uranium named by Klaproth.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1797 – uranium in English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A heavy, silvery-white, [[radioactive]] [[metal|alt=metallic]] [[chemical element]], used as a source of nuclear energy; symbol U, atomic number 92.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[uran-]]

+ * [[uranic]]

+ * [[uraninite]]

+ * [[uranite]]

+ * [[urano-]]

+ * [[uranous]]

+ * [[uranyl]]

+ * [[uranium dioxide]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[urania]]

+ * [[Uranian]]

+ * [[Uranus]]

+ * [[plutonium]]

+ * [[neptunium]]

+ * [[tellurium]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}