[puh-ley-dee-uh
m] 
| a rare metallic element of the platinum group, silver-white, ductile and malleable, harder and fusing more readily than platinum: used chiefly as a catalyst and in dental and other alloys. Symbol: Pd; atomic weight: 106.4; atomic number: 46; specific gravity: 12 at 20°C. |
[puh-ley-dee-uhm] [-dee-uh] . | 1. | Also, Pal⋅la⋅di⋅on [puh-ley-dee-on] . a statue of Athena, esp. one on the citadel of Troy on which the safety of the city was supposed to depend. |
| 2. | (usually lowercase) anything believed to provide protection or safety; safeguard. |
| pal·la·di·um 1 (pə-lā'dē-əm) n. Symbol Pd A soft, ductile, steel-white, tarnish-resistant, metallic element occurring naturally with platinum, especially in gold, nickel, and copper ores. Because it can absorb large amounts of hydrogen, it is used as a purification filter for hydrogen and a catalyst in hydrogenation. It is alloyed for use in electric contacts, jewelry, nonmagnetic watch parts, and surgical instruments. Atomic number 46; atomic weight 106.4; melting point 1,552°C; boiling point 3,140°C; specific gravity 12.02 (20°C); valence 2, 3, 4. See Table at element. [From Pallas (discovered at the same time as the element).] |
| pal·la·di·um 2 (pə-lā'dē-əm) n. pl. pal·la·di·a (-dē-ə) or pal·la·di·ums
[Middle English Palladion, a statue of Pallas Athena believed to protect Troy, from Old French palladion, from Latin Palladium, from Greek Palladion, from Pallas, Pallad-, Pallas Athena.] |
Palladium
An element commonly used in jewelry, electronics, and the purification of hydrogen.
Investopedia Commentary
Palladium is considered to be a precious metal.
See also: Bullion, Iridium, Platinum, Precious Metal, Silver
palladium pal·la·di·um (pə-lā'dē-əm)
n.
Symbol Pd
A soft ductile metallic element occurring naturally with platinum, especially in gold, nickel, and copper ores, and used as a catalyst in hydrogenation. Atomic number 46; atomic weight 106.4; melting point 1,555°C; boiling point 2,963°C; specific gravity 12.02 (20°C); valence 2, 3, 4.
Palladium
in Greek religion, image of the goddess Pallas (Athena), especially the archaic wooden statue of the goddess that was preserved in the citadel of Troy as a pledge of the safety of the city. As long as the statue was kept safe within Troy, the city could not be conquered. It was said that Zeus, the king of the gods, threw the statue down from heaven when the city of Ilium (Troy) was founded and that the Greek warriors Odysseus and Diomedes carried it off from the temple of Athena in Troy, thus making the Greek capture of Troy possible. Many cities in Greece and Italy claimed to possess the genuine Trojan Palladium, but it was particularly identified with the statue brought to Italy by the hero Aeneas after Troy's destruction and preserved in the shrine of the goddess Vesta at Rome. The Palladium was a common subject in Greek art, as was its theft in literature.
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