gallium

noun gal·li·um \ ˈga-lē-əm \

|Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of gallium

: a bluish-white metallic element obtained especially as a by-product in refining various ores and used especially in semiconductors and optoelectronic devices — see Chemical Elements Table

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Recent Examples of gallium from the Web

The plutonium-gallium alloy of the demon core was hot-pressed into two hemispheres and then coated with a thin layer of nickel to protect the plutonium from rusting; joining these two hemispheres together completed its manufacture.

— julian g. west, The Atlantic, "The Atomic-Bomb Core That Escaped World War II," 2 Apr. 2018
Instead of a color filter with an organic makeup (the 'O' in OLED), MicroLED has an inorganic color filter made of gallium nitrade, which should give MircoLEDs a longer life, and immunity to problems like burn-in.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "Apple Reportedly Has a Secret Screen Factory," 19 Mar. 2018
Iron meteorites: Typically consist of approximately 90 to 95% iron, with the remainder comprised of nickel and trace amounts of heavy metals, including iridium, gallium and sometimes gold.

— perry a. farrell, Detroit Free Press, "Which type of meteorite landed in Michigan? NASA 90% sure it knows," 17 Jan. 2018
The new model suggests our home planet contains significantly more sodium, potassium, chlorine, zinc, strontium, fluorine, gallium, rubidium, niobium, gadolinium, tantalum, helium, argon, and krypton than previously believed.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Create Most Accurate Estimate of Earth's Composition," 18 Sep. 2017
Gallium: Not atomic number 31 If running Linux in a chroot doesn’t do it for you, then Gallium OS is worth a look.

— j.m. porup, Ars Technica, "How to install Linux on a Chromebook (and why you should)," 19 June 2017
Gallium installs easily using the chrx command-line utility as a dual-boot system side by side with Chrome OS.

— j.m. porup, Ars Technica, "How to install Linux on a Chromebook (and why you should)," 19 June 2017
The would-be investor in Lumileds, GSR Ventures, also holds a stake in Lattice Power, a Chinese company that has been vocal about its efforts to develop technology related to gallium nitride and silicon.

— paul mozur and jane perlez, New York Times, "U.S. Tech Giants May Blur National Security Boundaries in China Deals OCT. 30, 2015," 4 Feb. 2016
A second contract, this one with Darpa, involves developing gallium nitride (GaN) as a semiconductor for missile defense radars.

— david hambling, WIRED, "Clandestine Compound Could Power New Pain Ray," 7 Apr. 2009

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gallium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gallium

borrowed from New Latin, from Gallia "Gaul, France" (going back to Latin) + -ium -ium

Note: The element was named by the first person to isolate it, the French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), reported in "Caractères chimiques et spectroscopiques dʼun nouveau métal, le Gallium, découvert dns une blende de la mine de Pierrefitte, vallée dʼArgelès," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de lʼAcadémie des Sciences, tome 81 (juillet-décembre 1875), pp. 493-95. In a later publication, Lecoq de Boisbaudran explained the origin of the name: " … jʼai aperçu les premiers indices de lʼexistence dʼun nouvel élément, que jʼai nommé «gallium» en lʼhonneur de la France (Gallia)" (" … I perceived the first signs of the existence of a new element, which I named "gallium" in honor of France (Gallia)") ("Sur un nouveau métal, le gallium," Annales de chimie et de physique, 5. série, tome 10 [1877], p. 103). The later hypothesis that gallium was formed from Latin gallus "cock," as a translation of the chemistʼs surname "Lecoq," is without apparent foundation. (Though the evidence is clear, there is on the other hand no indication that Lecoq de Boisbaudran ever explicitly denied the association.)

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First Known Use: 1875

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Medical Dictionary

gallium

noun gal·li·um \ ˈgal-ē-əm \

medical Definition of gallium

: a rare bluish white metallic element that is hard and brittle at low temperatures but melts just above room temperature and expands on freezing and that is used in the form of its hydrated nitrate salt Ga(NO₃)₃·9H₂O to treat hypercalcemia caused by certain cancers —symbol Ga — see Chemical Elements Table