manganese

[mang-guh-nees, -neez] /ˈmæŋ gəˌnis, -ˌniz/

noun, Chemistry

a hard, brittle, grayish-white, metallic element, an oxide of which, MnO ₂ (manganese dioxide) is a valuable oxidizing agent: used chiefly as an alloying agent in steel to give it toughness. Symbol: Mn; atomic weight: 54.938; atomic number: 25; specific gravity: 7.2 at 20°C.

Origin

1670-80; < French manganèse < Italian manganese, alteration of Medieval Latin magnesia magnesia

Examples from the web for manganese

The acid then dissolves other metals--such as manganese and aluminum--from the surrounding rock.
The microbes metabolize manganese in the dust that lands on the rock, and metabolites accrete on the rock's surface.
Taurine needs proper balance of manganese and zinc for it's storage, distribution, and utilization.
The pigments that give the fine-grained rocks their hues come largely from the iron and manganese compounds they contain.
For the lithium-ion version, it is manganese dioxide spiked with lithium ions.
The new material, a porous foam made from a nickel-manganese-gallium alloy, stretches slightly when exposed to a magnetic field.
One alternative is to replace cobalt with manganese.
We already know the shape of the manganese catalyst that does it.
These delicious little packages are dense with nutrients, an excellent source of manganese, copper and tryptophan.
It has even more fiber than the regular variety and respectable amounts of such nutrients as manganese, tryptophan and magnesium.

British Dictionary definitions for manganese

manganese

/ˈmæŋɡəˌniːz/

noun

a brittle greyish-white metallic element that exists in four allotropic forms, occurring principally in pyrolusite and rhodonite: used in making steel and ferromagnetic alloys. Symbol: Mn; atomic no: 25; atomic wt: 54.93805; valency: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 7; relative density: 7.21–7.44; melting pt: 1246±3°C; boiling pt: 2062°C

Word Origin

C17: via French from Italian manganese, probably altered form of Medieval Latin magnesia

Word Origin and History for manganese

1670s as the name of a mineral, oxide of manganese, from French manganèse (16c.), from Italian manganese, alteration or corruption of Medieval Latin magnesia (see magnesia). From 1783 in English as the name of an element.

manganese in Medicine

manganese man·ga·nese (māng'gə-nēz', -nēs')
n.
Symbol Mn
A brittle metallic element, having several allotropes. It is alloyed with steel to increase strength. Atomic number 25; atomic weight 54.9380; melting point 1,246°C; boiling point 2,061°C; specific gravity 7.21 to 7.44; valence 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7.

manganese in Science

manganese

(māng'gə-nēz')
Symbol Mn
A grayish-white, hard, brittle metallic element that occurs in several different minerals and in nodules on the ocean floor. It is used to increase the hardness and strength of steel and other important alloys. Atomic number 25; atomic weight 54.9380; melting point 1,244°C; boiling point 1,962°C; specific gravity 7.21 to 7.44; valence 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. See Periodic Table.