Chalcogens

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of elements in Group 16 of the periodic table, which includes oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium; these elements are characterized by having six electrons in their outer shell; they typically form various compounds with metals and nonmetals
2. Elements that belong to the oxygen family in the periodic table, known for having a range of oxidation states; these elements generally display both metallic and nonmetallic properties; they play significant roles in biological and geological processes
3. A classification of elements that includes oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium, recognized for their diverse chemical behaviors; exhibiting both similarities and differences in reactivity and bonding; they are essential to numerous compounds found in nature

Etymology: "Chalcogens" is the plural of "chalcogen," and the name looks like a description of what these elements do rather than a label chosen for their chemistry alone. The first part comes from the Greek "khalkos," meaning copper or bronze, a word that in ancient usage also covered metal ores generally. The second part, "-gen," comes from Greek "-genes," meaning "producing" or "forming," which is also the root of "oxygen" and "hydrogen." Put together, the name means something like "ore-forming," reflecting the fact that these elements are commonly found combined with metals in mineral ores. The sulfur, selenium and tellurium group, with oxygen at its head, earned this name because so many of their compounds turn up in ores. Sulfur appears in metal sulfide minerals, and the other members occur in comparable deposits, so the label points to where chemists and miners were finding them. The name reflects the early geological context of these elements rather than any single chemical property.