dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm 

-zh(ē-)əm

: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of dysprosium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Specifically, dysprosium, neodymium, scandium and gallium — vital stuff for making powerful magnets, semiconductors, night-vision goggles, hypersonic missiles, and much more. —Christopher Helman, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025

Neodymium and dysprosium are used in the permanent magnets of wind turbines, lanthanum in electric and hybrid car batteries. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 11 July 2025

Rare earth elements are 17 chemically very similar elements, including neodymium, dysprosium, samarium and others. —Peter Mullner, The Conversation, 3 July 2025

Crucially, in May the Kuantan plant produced its first batch of dysprosium and is expecting its first terbium this month. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 17 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Greek dysprósitos "difficult to access" (from dys- dys- + prósitos "approachable," verbal adjective of próseimi, prosiénai "to go toward, approach," from pros- pros- + eîmi, iénai "to go") + New Latin -ium -ium — more at issue entry 1

Note: The element was named by the first person to isolate it, the French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), reported in "Le holmine (ou terre X de M. Soret) contient au moins deux radicaux métalliques," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences, tome 102 (janvier-juin 1886), pp. 1003-04. The name was apparently given because several hundred fractionations ("plusieurs centaines de fractionnements") were required to isolate a sufficient amount of it to test spectroscopically.

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dysprosium

• symposium

Kids Definition

dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm 

-zh(ē-)əm

: a chemical element that forms very magnetic compounds see element

Medical Definition

dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm  -zh(ē-)əm 

: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds

—symbol Dy see Chemical Elements Table