Wolfram
//ˈwʊlfrəm// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 wolframite uncountable
- 2 a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite wordnet
- 3 tungsten dated, uncountable
Etymology
Borrowed from German Wolfram, of obscure origin. Generally assumed to be derived from Wolf (“wolf”) + Rahm (“cream, soot”), a calque of Latin lupi spuma (“wolf's froth”), coined by Georg Agricola in the 16th century and a term of contempt due to its lesser value compared to tin and its degradation to the tin smelting process. Else, possibly derived from a personal name, where the second element is derived from *hrabn (“raven”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.