bismuth

[biz-muh th] /ˈbɪz məθ/
noun, Chemistry
1.
a brittle, grayish-white, red-tinged, metallic element used in the manufacture of fusible alloys and in medicine. Symbol: Bi; atomic weight: 208.980; atomic number: 83.
Origin of bismuth
1660-70; earlier bismutum < New Latin bisemūtum, Latinized form of German Wissmuth (now Wismut) < ?
Related forms
bismuthal, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for bismuth

bismuth

/ˈbɪzməθ/
noun
1.
a brittle pinkish-white crystalline metallic element having low thermal and electrical conductivity, which expands on cooling. It is widely used in alloys, esp low-melting alloys in fire safety devices; its compounds are used in medicines. Symbol: Bi; atomic no: 83; atomic wt: 208.98037; valency: 3 or 5; relative density: 9.747; melting pt: 271.4°C; boiling pt: 1564±5°C
Derived Forms
bismuthal (ˈbɪzməθəl) adjective
Word Origin
C17: from New Latin bisemūtum, from German Wismut, of unknown origin
Word Origin and History for bismuth
n.

1660s, from obsolete German Bismuth, also Wismut, Wissmuth (early 17c.), of unknown origin; perhaps a miner's contraction of wis mat "white mass," from Old High German hwiz "white." Latinized 1530 by Georgius Agricola (who may have been the first to recognize it as an element) as bisemutum. According to Klein, not from Arabic.

bismuth in Medicine

bismuth bis·muth (bĭz'məth)
n.
Symbol Bi
A highly diamagnetic metallic element used in various low-melting alloys in castings, solders, and fire-safety devices. Atomic number 83; atomic weight 208.980; melting point 271.4°C; boiling point 1,560°C; specific gravity 9.747; valence 3, 5.

bismuth in Science
bismuth
  (bĭz'məth)   
Symbol Bi
A brittle, pinkish-white, crystalline metallic element that occurs in nature as a free metal and in various ores. Bismuth is the most strongly diamagnetic element and has the highest atomic number of all stable elements. It is used to make low-melting alloys for fire-safety devices. Atomic number 83; atomic weight 208.98; melting point 271.3°C; boiling point 1,560°C; specific gravity 9.747; valence 3, 5. See Periodic Table.