an unstable radioactive element of the alkali-metal group, occurring in minute amounts in uranium ores. Symbol: Fr; atomic no: 87; half-life of most stable isotope, 223Fr: 22 minutes; valency: 1; melting pt: 27°C; boiling pt: 677°C
Word origin
C20: from New Latin, from France + -ium; so-called because first found in France
virginium in American English
(vərˈdʒɪniəm)
noun
Chemistry(formerly)
francium
Symbol: Vi
Word origin
[1925–30; virgini(a) + -ium]This word is first recorded in the period 1925–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: buildup, dropout, gimmick, payload, recycle-ium is a suffix found on nouns borrowed from Latin, esp. derivatives of verbs (odium; tedium; colloquium; delirium), deverbal compounds with the initial element denoting the object of the verb (nasturtium), other types of compounds (equilibrium; millennium), and derivatives of personal nouns, often denoting the associated status or office(collegium; consortium; magisterium); -ium also occurs in scientific coinages on a Latin model, as in names of metallic elements(barium; titanium) and as a Latinization of Greek -ion (pericardium)