Chemical elements from common nouns
Elements from English roots
| Element | a.n. | symbol | from | origin of symbol |
| potassium |
19 |
K |
potash |
Latin kalium |
| iron |
26 |
Fe |
iron |
Latin ferrum |
| silver |
47 |
Ag |
silver |
Latin argentum |
| tin |
50 |
Sn |
tin |
Latin stannum |
| gold |
79 |
Au |
gold |
Latin aurum |
| lead |
82 |
Pb |
lead |
Latin plumbum |
Elements from Greek roots
| Element | a.n. | symbol | from Greek | meaning in English |
| hydrogen |
1 |
H |
udro genhV |
water-forming |
| lithium |
3 |
Li |
liqoV |
stone |
| beryllium |
4 |
Be |
bhrullos |
the mineral beryl |
| nitrogen |
7 |
N |
nitron genhV |
nitre-forming |
| oxygen |
8 |
O |
oxuV genhV |
acid-forming |
| neon |
10 |
Ne |
neoV |
new |
| chlorine |
17 |
Cl |
clwros |
greenish-yellow |
| argon |
18 |
Ar |
argoV |
inactive |
| chromium |
24 |
Cr |
crwma |
color |
| bromine |
35 |
Br |
brwmoV |
stench |
| krypton |
36 |
Kr |
kruptoV |
hidden |
| molybdenum |
42 |
Mo |
molubdoV |
lead |
| technetium |
43 |
Tc |
tecnhtoV |
artificial |
| rhodium |
45 |
Rh |
rodon |
rose |
| cadmium |
48 |
Cd |
kadmeia |
the mineral calamine |
| antimony |
48 |
Sb* |
anti monoV |
not alone |
| iodine |
53 |
I |
iwdhV |
violet |
| xenon |
54 |
Xe |
xenon |
stranger |
| barium |
56 |
Ba |
baruV |
heavy |
| lanthanum |
57 |
La |
lanqanein |
to hide |
| praseodymium |
59 |
Pr |
prasioV didumoV |
green twin |
| neodymium |
60 |
Nd |
neoV didumoV |
new twin |
| dysprosium |
66 |
Dy |
dusprositoV |
hard to get at |
| osmium |
76 |
Os |
osmh |
odor |
| thallium |
81 |
Tl |
qalloV |
green shoot |
| astatine |
85 |
At |
astatoV |
unstable |
| actinium |
89 |
Ac |
aktiV |
ray |
| protactinium |
91 |
Pa |
prwtoV |
first |
*Sb is from Latin stibium
Elements from Latin roots
| Element | a.n. | symbol | from Latin | meaning in English |
| carbon |
6 |
C |
carbo |
charcoal |
| fluorine |
9 |
F |
fluere |
to flow |
| aluminum |
13 |
Al |
alumen |
alum |
| silicon |
14 |
Si |
silex |
flint |
| sulfur |
16 |
S |
sulfur |
sulfur |
| calcium |
20 |
Ca |
calx |
lime |
| rubidium |
37 |
Rb |
rubidus |
deep red |
| cesium |
55 |
Cs |
caesius |
sky-blue |
| iridium |
77 |
Ir |
iris |
rainbow |
| radon |
86 |
Rn |
radius |
ray |
| radium |
88 |
Ra |
radius |
ray |
Elements from other languages
| Element | a.n. | symbol | from | meaning in English |
| boron |
5 |
B |
Persian burah |
borax |
| sodium |
11 |
Na* |
Persian surach |
saltwort |
| zinc |
30 |
Zn |
German Zink |
[origin uncertain] |
| arsenic |
33 |
As |
Persian zerni-zar |
gold |
| zirconium |
40 |
Zr |
Persian zargun |
golden |
| tungsten |
74 |
W† |
Swedish tung sten |
heavy stone |
| platinum |
78 |
Pt |
Spanish plata |
silver |
|
| bismuth |
83 |
Bi |
German Weisse Masse |
white mass |
*Na is from Latin natrium
†W is from "wolframite", or uncertain origin