bismuth
Bismuth (noun) means a brittle, silvery-white metallic chemical element with the symbol Bi and the atomic number 83. Example: “Bismuth is a brittle metal, so it breaks rather than bends.”
How to use bismuth
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishBismuth is a brittle, silvery-white metal that appears on the periodic table as Bi.
It is a technical word, used mainly in chemistry and science teaching.
The symbol Bi matches the first two letters of the word, so the name and symbol are easy to learn together. The -th at the end is pronounced like the th in 'math'.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
_____ is a brittle metal, so it breaks rather than bends.
Etymology
The word came into English from German Wismuth. It is often explained as a miners' shortening of a phrase meaning white mass, built on an Old High German word for white.
