Bromine
/ˈbroʊmiːn/noun
A reddish-brown, highly reactive chemical element in the halogen group.
Did you know?The name comes from Greek bromos, meaning “stench” or “bad smell,” because the element’s vapor was so overpowering it was hard to handle without gagging.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
βρῶμος (brōmos)
“stench, foul smell”
19th Century
French
brome
“the newly discovered element bromine”
1826
French
brome
“name proposed by Antoine Jérôme Balard for the element”
1820s
Latinized scientific English
bromine
“the chemical element with a strong, unpleasant odor”
Modern English
English
bromine
“a halogen element, symbol Br, used in various industrial compounds”