tungsten
Meaning
A hard, heavy, greyish-white metallic element that is used to make steel harder and in the filaments of electric lights.
Structure
Usage
The filament in an incandescent light bulb is typically made of tungsten.
Tungsten carbide is an extremely hard material used for cutting tools and abrasives.
Due to its high melting point, tungsten is ideal for use in aerospace and high-temperature applications.
Etymology
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.
Analysis
'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'.