rhizoverbBeta
DictionarydysprosiumChemical element
noun

dysprosium

dis-PROH-zee-um/dɪsˈprəʊziəm/

A soft, silvery rare-earth chemical element.

A silvery sample of dysprosium rests in a small laboratory dish.

A silvery dysprosium specimen in a small laboratory sample dish bearing only the indispensable chemical symbol Dy and atomic number 66.
Etymology
dysGreekdifficult
+prosGreekapproachable
+iumLatinmetallic element

‘Difficult’ and ‘approachable’ combine into ‘hard to get at.’ The element’s name refers to the difficulty of obtaining it from the complex material in which it was found.

In context

QNS Science26:35
this is the electron density of dysprosium uh illustrated in cartoon format
Richard Layfield_Axial Crystal Fields and Single-Molecule Magnetism in Dysprosium Sandwich Compounds

More examples

  • Some powerful magnets contain dysprosium.
  • The chemical symbol for dysprosium is Dy.
  • The researchers test the purity of the dysprosium.

Forms

dysprosium