Main Entry: mag·ne·sium

Pronunciation: \mag-ˈnē-zē-əm, -zhəm\

Function: noun

: a silver-white light malleable ductile metallic element that occurs abundantly in nature (as in bones and seeds and in the form of chlorophyll in the green parts of plants) and is used in metallurgical and chemical processes, in photography, in signaling, and in the manufacture of pyrotechnics because of the intense white light it produces on burning, and in construction especially in the form of light alloys—symbol Mg; see element table