Niobates

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Compounds formed from niobic acid, in which niobium-containing anions combine with metal or other cations in a crystalline structure
2. Salts derived from the acid of niobium, typically used in ceramics, optics and electronic materials
3. Chemical compounds containing niobium oxide anions bonded to positively charged ions, studied for their useful physical properties

Etymology: Niobates are salts or esters of niobic acid, and the name is a chain of chemical labels rather than a story about a person or place. The metal at its root, niobium, was named after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus in Greek myth, who wept until she was turned to stone. The name was given because the element is closely related to tantalum, whose own name comes from Tantalus, so chemists chose a mythological sibling to match it. The word itself is built in two steps: "niobic acid" comes from niobium with the adjective-forming suffix "-ic" (as in "sulfuric"), and "niobate" adds the suffix "-ate," which chemists use to name salts and esters formed from an acid. The "-ate" ending traces back through Latin "-atus," a form that passed into English as a chemical suffix. The plural "niobates" simply refers to more than one such compound.