Samarium Oxide
/səˈmɛəriəm ˈɒksaɪd/noun
A chemical compound composed of samarium and oxygen, commonly occurring as samarium(III) oxide, Sm₂O₃.
Did you know?Samarium was named indirectly after Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets through the mineral samarskite, making it one of the few elements whose name traces back to a real person rather than mythology or a place.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂ek-
“Sharp, pointed, or piercing; the ancient root associated with later words for sharpness and acidity.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
oxýs
“Sharp, pointed, or acidic; the source of the chemical combining form ox-.”
18th Century
French
oxyde
“Oxide; a compound formed when oxygen combines with another element, a term introduced in the development of modern chemistry.”
1830s
Russian
samarskite
“A mineral named for Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mining official.”
1879
Latinized scientific English
samarium
“The chemical element named from samarskite after its discovery in that mineral.”
Modern English
English
samarium oxide
“The oxide compound of samarium and oxygen, usually written Sm₂O₃.”