a soft malleable silvery-white element of the lanthanide series of metals: used in special alloys, room-temperature lasers, and as a pigment. Symbol: Er; atomic no: 68; atomic wt: 167.26; valency: 3; relative density: 9.006; melting pt: 1529°C; boiling pt: 2868°C
Word origin
C19: from New Latin, from (Ytt)erb(y), Sweden, where it was first found + -ium
erbium in American English
(ˈɜrbiəm)
noun
a trivalent chemical element, one of the rare-earth elements: symbol, Er; at. no., 68
Word origin
ModL: so named (1843) by K. G. Mosander (1797-1858), Swed chemist, after Ytterby, village in Sweden where the rare-earth minerals were first found + -ium