Oxometalate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chemical anion in which a metal atom is bonded to several oxygen atoms, typically forming a polyatomic ion such as permanganate
2. An oxygen-containing complex ion built around a central metal atom, found in many inorganic salts and compounds
3. A negatively charged species made of a metal surrounded by oxide groups, commonly studied in coordination and inorganic chemistry

Etymology: Oxometalate is a chemistry term built from two pieces that each carry a long history of their own. The "oxo-" part comes from the Ancient Greek "oxús," meaning "sharp" or "acid," which entered modern science through the 1780s coinage "oxygène," where it was chosen because chemists then believed oxygen was the essential element of acids. English took "oxygen" and later shortened the combining form to "oxo-," used whenever oxygen is attached to a molecule as a substituent, as in "oxo group." The second part, "metal," passes through Latin "metallum," which came from Greek "métallon," meaning a mine or something dug out of the earth, before reaching English through Old French and Middle English. The suffix "-ate," borrowed from Latin "-atus," marks a salt or anion formed from an acid, so the word is a straightforward chemical coinage: an oxo-containing metal-based anion, a compound built from a metal surrounded by oxygen atoms.

Synonyms: oxyanion