Nipponium

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A synthetic superheavy chemical element discovered in Japan with atomic number 113, initially named after the Japanese word for Japan before being officially renamed nihonium
2. A transuranic element with 113 protons in its nucleus that was first synthesized by Japanese scientists and provisionally called by this name before receiving its current official designation
3. The former provisional name for element 113, a highly unstable artificial element created through nuclear fusion that is now officially recognized by the IUPAC as nihonium

Etymology: Nipponium is a chemical element name that was proposed but never officially adopted. Its name is built from "Nippon", the Japanese name for Japan, and the Latin-derived suffix "-ium", which chemists use for many metallic elements. The name was chosen to honour the country where the element was identified, as a nod to its discoverer's homeland. The word has a notable twist in its later life. Decades after the name was first proposed, the element was re-identified and given a new name, nihonium, which uses "Nihon", the other Japanese reading of the country's name. The two words are doublets: they share the same origin in the Japanese name for Japan, but reached their final forms through different Japanese pronunciations, one a Japanese-derived reading with a Latin-style ending and one a slightly different reading of the same name.