neodymium
UK[ˌniːə(ʊ)ˈdɪmɪəm]US[ˌniːoʊˈdɪmɪəm]
n
a chemical element (symbol nd), a soft silvery-white metal of the lanthanide series, used in making strong permanent magnets, lasers, and colored glass.
Morpheme Breakdown
neo
dymium
neo
new
dymium
from didymium
Etymology
the name neodymium originates from the greek words 'neos' (new) and 'didymos' (twin). it was coined in the late 19th century by its discoverer, carl auer von welsbach. he isolated it from a substance known as 'didymium', which was previously thought to be a single element but was revealed to be a mixture of two "twin" elements: praseodymium ("green twin") and neodymium ("new twin"). thus, neodymium literally means the "new twin," reflecting its status as the newly identified member of that pair.
Analysis
Structure: neo (new) + dymium (from didymium)
- neo: from greek 'neos', meaning 'new'. serves as a prefix indicating newness or a recent form.
- dymium: a truncated form of 'didymium', itself from greek 'didymos' meaning 'twin'. it functions as the base name of the substance from which neodymium was separated.
Examples
neodymium magnets are among the strongest permanent magnets known.
the glassblower added neodymium oxide to the mixture to create special purple glass.
researchers are developing more efficient wind turbine generators using neodymium-iron-boron alloys.