a very hard brittle bluish-white metal occurring with platinum and alloyed with iridium in osmiridium: used to produce platinum alloys, mainly for pen tips and instrument pivots, as a catalyst, and in electric-light filaments. Symbol: Os; atomic no: 76; atomic wt: 190.2; valency: 0 to 8; relative density: 22.57; melting pt: 3033±30°C; boiling pt: 5012±100°C
Word origin
C19: from Greek osmē smell, so called from its penetrating odour
osmium in American English
(ˈɑzmiəm; ˈɑsmiəm)
noun
a very hard, bluish-white, amorphous, metallic chemical element, one of the platinum metals: it occurs in the form of an alloy with platinumand iridium and is used in pen points, electric light filaments, etc., and as a catalyst: symbol, Os; at. no., 76
Word origin
ModL: so named (1804) by S. Tennant (1761-1815), Eng chemist < Gr osmē, odor (from the odor of one of its oxides) + -ium