thallium
[ thal-ee-uh m ]
/ ˈθæl i əm /
noun Chemistry.
a soft, malleable, rare, bluish-white metallic element: used in the manufacture of alloys and, in the form of its salts, in rodenticides. Symbol: Tl; atomic weight: 204.37; atomic number: 81; specific gravity: 11.85 at 20°C.
Origin of thallium
1860–65; < New Latin, equivalent to
thall- (< Greek
thallós green stalk) +
-ium
-ium; named after green line in its spectrum
Words nearby thallium
thales,
thali,
thalia,
thalidomide,
thallic,
thallium,
thallium sulfate,
thallo-,
thalloid,
thallophyte,
thallous
Example sentences from the Web for thallium
British Dictionary definitions for thallium
thallium
/ (ˈθælɪəm) /
noun
a soft malleable highly toxic white metallic element used as a rodent and insect poison and in low-melting glass. Its compounds are used as infrared detectors and in photoelectric cells. Symbol: Tl; atomic no: 81; atomic wt: 204.3833; valency: 1 or 3; relative density: 11.85; melting pt: 304°C; boiling pt: 1473±10°C
Word Origin for thallium
C19: from New Latin, from Greek
thallos a green shoot; referring to the green line in its spectrum
Medical definitions for thallium
thallium
[ thăl′ē-əm ]
n. Symbol Tl
A soft, malleable, highly toxic metallic element whose radioisotopes are used in diagnostic imaging. Atomic number 81.
Scientific definitions for thallium
thallium
[ thăl′ē-əm ]
Tl
A soft, malleable, very poisonous metallic element that is used in photography, in making low-melting and highly refractive glass, and in treating skin infections. Atomic number 81; atomic weight 204.38; melting point 303.5°C; boiling point 1,457°C; specific gravity 11.85; valence 1, 3. See Periodic Table.