Palladiums

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A rare, silver-white metal used in jewelry and electronics, recognized for its resistance to tarnish and excellent catalytic properties
2. Referring to multiple instances of a valuable element that is part of the platinum group, often employed in various industrial applications
3. Denoting the various forms or compounds of a precious metal known for its role in catalytic converters and as an alloying agent in precious metal alloys

Etymology: Palladium's name looks like a chemist's invention, but it comes from a figure in myth. The Greek "Palládion" was a statue of Pallas, an epithet of Athena, and according to legend the image of Pallas protected the city of Troy. A safeguard of that kind gave Latin "Palladium" and English the sense "something that protects," which is the older sense of the word. The metal took its name from the sky rather than from the myth. When the element was identified, it was named after Pallas, an asteroid that had been discovered two years earlier. Chemists therefore borrowed the name of a newly found celestial body, which itself carried the old Greek title of the goddess. The name thus passes from a Greek goddess's epithet, to a Trojan talisman, to a small planet, and finally to a metal. "Palladiums" is simply the plural of this noun, used when referring to more than one such metal or several samples of it.

Synonyms: palladium, precious metal, platinum group metal, catalyst, noble metal