English
indium
Indium comes from Latin indicus ‘Indian, Indic’, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός ‘the Indus river’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš.
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*síndʰuš‘river’reconstructed
- Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*híndušreconstructed
- Old Persianc. 600–300 BCEhiⁿdūštransliteratedoriginal script hiⁿdūš, a transliteration
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἸνδός‘the Indus river’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἸνδία
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰνδικός
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicus‘Indian, Indic’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentíndigo
- Germanc. 1650–presentIndigo
- Englishtodayindium
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*síndʰuš‘river’reconstructed
- Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*híndušreconstructed
- Old Persianc. 600–300 BCEhiⁿdūštransliteratedoriginal script hiⁿdūš, a transliteration
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἸνδός‘the Indus river’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἸνδία
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰνδικός
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicus‘Indian, Indic’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentíndigo
- Germanc. 1650–presentIndigo
- Englishtodayindium
The story
Coined as a New Latin term from German Indigo (‘indigo’), based on the color of its spectral lines.
Linked words
through Spanish índigo
Today it means
noun A chemical element (symbol In) with an atomic number of 49: a soft silvery-white metal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš / indium