gallium Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element; brittle at low temperatures but liquid above room temperature; occurs in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores
    atomic number 31; Ga.

WordNet

Gal"li*um noun
Etymology
NL., fr. L. Gallia France.
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) A rare metallic element, found in certain zinc ores. It is white, hard, and malleable, resembling aluminium, and remarcable for its low melting point (86 F., 30C). Symbol Ga. Atomic weight 69.9. ✍ The element was predicted with most of its properties, under the name ekaluminium, by the Russian chemist Mendelejeff, on the basis of the Periodic law. This prediction was verified in its discovery by the French chemist Lecoq de Boisbaudran by its characteristic spectrum (two violet lines), in an examination of a zinc blende from the Pyrenees.

Webster 1913