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potassium

po·tas·sium

UK/pəˈtæsiəm/ US/pʌˈtæsiʌm/ fairly common

noun

1.

a light soft silver-white metallic element of the alkali metal group; oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts violently with water; is abundant in nature in combined forms occurring in sea water and in carnallite and kainite and sylvite

Origin

Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1807, from potassa (a Latinized form of potash) + -ium.

Phrases

  • acesulfame potassium
  • bismuthide of potassium
  • bromide of potassium
  • carbonate of potassium
  • chromate of potassium
  • hydrogen potassium carbonate
  • plumbate of potassium
  • potassium acesulfame

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.