The word 'tungsten' is a direct loan from Swedish, coined in the 18th century from 'tung' (heavy) and 'sten' (stone). This name was given to the mineral now known as scheelite (calcium tungstate) due to its notably high density compared to other stones, even though the metal itself is extracted from it. The element was isolated from this mineral, and the Swedish name was adopted into English, replacing its earlier temporary name 'wolfram'. The term perfectly captures the property that first distinguished its source ore.

Structure: tung (heavy) + sten (stone) 'tung' is from the Swedish word 'tung', meaning 'heavy', of Old Norse origin. 'sten' is from the Swedish word 'sten', meaning 'stone', of Old Norse origin. In this compound, they combine to literally mean 'heavy stone'.