4, #4, Francis
It's elementary!
Sometimes I worry, as I go through the old Word Ways issues, that I’m showing too much favoritism to Darryl Francis. But he always seems to have one or more pieces in every issue that vibe with my sensibilities, and #4.4 didn’t break that streak.
In “A Chemistry Lesson,” Francis explored the alternate names of elements. He presented these names as a puzzle for the reader to solve, but y’all are busy, so I thought I’d turn them into a list. I’ve added some discoveries of my own, and for completeness’ sake, I’m including all the elements, even the ones that have no synonyms.
Names for specific isotopes or formations of the element, like deuterium for hydrogen and coal for carbon, are not included. One alternate name, “spirit,” has been assigned to two different elements, sulfur and mercury—this is marked with an asterisk. Several other element names like “plutonium” were originally used for other elements before finding their official, “proper” usage—these are marked with two asterisks. And a couple of elements have variant spellings outside of the USA—these are marked with a plus sign.
1 hydrogen E949, waterstuff
2 helium E939
3 lithium
4 beryllium glucinium, glucinum
5 boron adamantine, boracium, borium
6 carbon carbone
7 nitrogen alkaligen, azote, E941
8 oxygen dephlogisticated air, E948, sourstuff, vital air
9 fluorine ftor, phtor, phthore
10 neon
11 sodium natrium
12 magnesium magnium
13 aluminum aluminium+
14 silicon silicium, silicum
15 phosphorous
16 sulfur brimstone, quebrith, sulphur+, spirit*
17 chlorine
18 argon E938
19 potassium kalium
20 calcium
21 scandium ekaboron
21 scandium exa-bor
22 titanium
23 vanadium erythronium, panchromium, rionium
24 chromium chrome
25 manganese magnesia, manganesium, manganesum
26 iron ferrum, hierro, mars, osmund, yerne
27 cobalt
28 nickel niccolum
29 copper venus
30 zinc far, spelter, zincum
31 gallium austrium, ek-aluminum, eka-aluminum
32 germanium ekasilicon
33 arsenic arsenick
34 selenium
35 bromine muride
36 krypton
37 rubidium
38 strontium
39 yttrium
40 zirconium
41 niobium columbium, pelopium
42 molybdenum
43 technetium ekamanganese, masurium, nipponium
44 ruthenium
45 rhodium
46 palladium
47 silver diana, luna, selfer, the moon, wedge, white, E174
48 cadmium
49 indium
50 tin jupiter, plumbum candidum
51 antimony
52 tellurium sylvanium
53 iodine
54 xenon
55 cesium caesium
56 barium plutonium**
57 lanthanum
58 cerium
59 praseodymium
60 neodymium
61 promethium cyclonium, eka-neodymium, florentium, illinium
62 samarium
63 europium
64 gadolinium
65 terbium
66 dysprosium
67 holmium
68 erbium
69 thulium denebium
70 ytterbium alderbaranium, capronium, cassiopeium, dubhium, neoytterbium
71 lutetium
72 hafnium celtium, jargonium, nigrium, oceanium
73 tantalum tantalium
74 tungsten scheelium
74 tungsten wolfram
75 rhenium bohemium, dvimanganese, uralium
76 osmium
77 iridium
78 platinum platina, white gold
79 gold altun, aurum, E175, obrison, obrize, oro, red, ridge, shiny, sol, spanker, yellow
80 mercury argentum virum, azoch, azoth, dragon, hydrargire, quick, quicksilver, spirit*
81 thallium
82 lead plumbum, plumbum nigrum, saturn
83 bismuth bastard of tin, plumbum cinereum
84 polonium dvitellurium, radiotellurium
85 astatine alabamine, anglohelvetium, eka-iodine, eline, helvetium
86 radon emanation, niton
87 francium actinium-k, dvicesium, ekacaesium, moldavium, russium, verium, virginium
88 radium
89 actinium anemium, emanium
90 thorium thorinum
91 protactinium brevium, ekatantalum, protactinium
92 uranium
93 neptunium ausonium, ekarhenium, transuranium
94 plutonium ekaosmium, esperium
95 americium
96 curium
97 berkelium
98 californium
99 einsteinium
100 fermium
101 mendelevium unnilunium
102 nobelium unnilbium
103 lawrencium unniltrium
104 rutherfordium eka-hafnium, kurchatovium, unnilquadium
105 dubnium eka-tantalum, hahnium, joliotium, nielsbohrium, unnilpentium
106 seaborgium eka-tungsten, rutherfordium**, unnilhexium
107 bohrium eka-rhenium, unnilseptium
108 hassium eka-osmium, hahnium, unniloctium
109 meitnerium eka-iridium, unnilennium
110 darmstadtium eka-platinum, ununnilium
111 roentgenium eka-gold, unununium
112 copernicium eka-mercury, ununbium
113 nihonium eka-thallium, ununtrium
114 flerovium eka-lead, ununquadium
115 moscovium eka-bismuth, ununpentium
116 livermorium eka-polonium, ununhexium
117 tennessine eka-astantine, ununseptium
118 oganesson eka-radon, ununoctium
119 ununennium eka-francium
120 unbinilium eka-radium
121 unbiunium eka-actinium
122 unbibium
123 unbitrium
124 unbiquadium
125 unbipentium
126 unbihexium
Elements after 118 are theoretical. Gold has the most alternate names of any element—including both “yellow” and “red”! It’s followed by mercury, and silver takes the bronze.
… … … … …
Darryl also wrote me to point out that when I discussed word “forms,” I left out the higher dimensions—and another piece in the same issue happens to mention those! More on that…tomorrow!