wolfram

[wool-fruhm, vawl-] Origin

wolf·ram

[wool-fruhm, vawl-]
noun
1.
Chemistry. tungsten.
2.
Mineralogy. wolframite.

Origin:
1750–60; < German Wolfram orig., wolframite, probably equivalent to Wolf wolf + -ram, representing Middle High German rām soot, dirt; formed on the model of personal names with initial Wolf-, as a contemptuous epithet for the mineral, which was considered worthless in comparison with tin ores, with which it is often found
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Wolfram is always a great word to know.
So is atomic. Does it mean:
existing as free, uncombined atoms
any of a class of chemical compounds having the general formula ROH, where R represents an alkyl group and ?OH a hydroxyl group
Collins
World English Dictionary
wolfram (ˈwʊlfrəm)
 
n
another name for tungsten
 
[C18: from German, originally perhaps from the proper name, Wolfram, used pejoratively of tungsten because it was thought inferior to tin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

wolfram
1757, from Ger. Wolfram, wolform "iron tungstate" (1562), of obscure etymology. It looks like "wolf-cream" (from rahm "cream"), but the second element might be M.H.G. ram (Ger. Rahm) "dirty mark, soot;" if so, perhaps "so called in sign of contempt because it was regarded of lesser value than tin and
EXPAND
caused a considerable loss of tin during the smelting process in the furnace" [Klein]. Or perhaps the word is originally a personal name, "wolf-raven."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

wolfram wolf·ram (w&oobreve;l'frəm)
n.
See tungsten.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
wolfram   (wl'frəm)  Pronunciation Key 
See tungsten.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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