a brittle silvery-white nonmetallic element occurring both uncombined and in combination with metals: used in alloys of lead and copper and as a semiconductor. Symbol: Te; atomic no: 52; atomic wt: 127.60; valency: 2, 4, or 6; relative density: 6.24; melting pt: 449.57±0.3°C; boiling pt: 988°C
Word origin
C19: New Latin, from Latin tellūs the earth, formed by analogy with uranium
tellurium in American English
(tɛˈlʊriəm; təˈluriəm)
noun
a rare, tin-white, brittle, nonmetallic chemical element, belonging to the same family ofelements as sulfur and selenium and occurring naturally in mineral tellurite and tellurides: it is used as a glass tint, as an alloying material, and in thermoelectric converters: symbol, Te; at. no., 52
Word origin
ModL: coined (1798) by M. H. Klaproth (1743-1817), Ger chemist, for element discovered(1783) by F. J. M. von Reichenstein, Austrian mineralogist < L tellus, earth (see tellurian) + -ium, in contrast to uranium