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Added 10 October 2026

calcium

/ˈkælsi.əm/ noun

In Latin: calcium Coined: 1808, by Humphry Davy Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about calcium at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The chemical element (symbol Ca) with atomic number 20: a soft, silvery-white alkaline earth metal which occurs naturally as carbonate in limestone and as silicate in many rocks.
An atom of this element.

Origin

Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1808, from Latin calx (“lime, limestone”) because it occurs in limestone. By surface analysis, calc- + -ium.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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