אבץ

Hebrew

Chemical element
Zn
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Root
א־ב־ץ (ʾ-b-ts)

Etymology

Coined by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, based on Aramaic אבצא (“tin”) and Arabic بَيَّضَ (bayyaḍa, “to whiten, to tin”), he reasoned that Hebrew already had בְּדִיל (b'dil, “tin”) so the root could be used for another metal.

Pronunciation

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Noun

אָבָץ • (avátz) m

1. zinc (a chemical element (symbol Zn) with an atomic number of 30, a blue-silvery metal that is slightly brittle at room temperature and tarnishes slightly in moist air)

References

• “אבץ” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

• אבץ on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he