Samarium

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /səˈmɛə.ɹi.əm/

Definitions

1. A metallic element from the lanthanide series that is employed in the creation of strong permanent magnets and various alloys
2. This element is characterized by its utility in specialized applications and its presence in certain minerals, identified by the symbol Sm
3. A chemical element with the symbol Sm and atomic number 62, known for its use in nuclear reactors as a neutron absorber and found naturally in minerals like samarskite

Etymology: Samarium is named after a mineral, not a place or a discoverer's home country. The mineral samarskite was named in honour of Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mining official, whose name gave the element its own. Samarskite was the ore from which the element was first isolated, so the chain runs from a person to a mineral to a chemical element. The name therefore records a double honour: the mineral carried the mining official's name, and the element inherited it through that ore. Chemists often named new elements after the minerals they came from, which is why many rare-earth elements share names with ores and their localities.