Potassium

//pəˈtæsiəm// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A soft, waxy, silvery reactive metal that is never found unbound in nature; an element with atomic number 19 and atomic weight of 39.0983. uncountable, usually

    "We all need potassium, and green vegetables are a good source."

  2. 2
    a light soft silver-white metallic element of the alkali metal group; oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts violently with water; is abundant in nature in combined forms occurring in sea water and in carnallite and kainite and sylvite wordnet
  3. 3
    A single atom of this element. countable, usually

    "This reaction substitutes a potassium for a sodium."

Etymology

Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1807, from potassa (a Latinized form of potash) + -ium.

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