lithium
リチウム
解説 Definition
lithium は元素のリチウムという意味です。日本語のカタカナ語とほぼ同じで、電池の材料や化学の文脈でよく使われます。
Lithium is a soft, silvery chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is the lightest metal and is widely used in rechargeable batteries, alloys, and certain medical treatments.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
lithium は元素記号 Li、原子番号3の非常に軽い金属。語頭 lith- をギリシャ語 lithos「石」と結び付け、植物灰ではなく鉱石から見つかった元素という命名の背景で覚える。lithium battery、lithium-ion battery、a light metal が典型表現。日常では電池材料としてよく見るが、元素名なので通常は不可算名詞として使う。
Link the lith- in lithium with Greek lithos, meaning “stone.” The element was named in connection with its discovery in mineral material, unlike some other alkali metals first identified from plant ashes. Remember its symbol Li and picture a lightweight rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Useful combinations include lithium battery, lithium supply, and lithium compound. As the name of a chemical element or substance, lithium is normally uncountable. The same Greek stone root also appears in lithograph, originally a printing process using a stone surface, and monolith, a single massive stone.
例文
Lithium is used in many batteries.
リチウムは多くの電池に使われています。
The company needs lithium for its new battery.
その会社は新しい電池のためにリチウムを必要としています。
Scientists study lithium because it is a light metal.
リチウムは軽い金属なので、科学者たちはそれを研究しています。
lithium の類義語・関連語
派生語
紛らわしい語
lithium の語源・成り立ち Etymology
ギリシャ語 lithos（石）に接尾辞 -ium を付けた造語。ナトリウムやカリウムが植物灰から発見されたのに対し、鉱石（石）から発見されたことにちなむ命名。関連語: lithograph（石版画）、monolith（一枚岩）。
Lithium was named in the early nineteenth century from Greek lithos, meaning “stone,” together with the element-forming suffix -ium. The name reflected the fact that the substance was identified in a mineral, whereas sodium and potassium compounds had been strongly associated with plant materials. The Greek root lith- also appears in lithograph, originally printing from stone, and monolith, a single large stone. Lithium is therefore literally a name built around the idea of stone.
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