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selenium

noun

  1. mineral (as opposed to the chemical element)
  2. chemical element with atomic number of 34
L18207 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /sɪˈliːni.əm/ / /səˈliːni.əm/

noun

Etymology: From French sélénium, the name coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1818 from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) in reference to original confusion with the similar element tellurium.

  1. A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Se) with an atomic number of 34, used mainly in glassmaking and pigments and as a semiconductor.

    Pluck almost any cell from your body and it will have a million or more selenium atoms in it.

  2. An atom of this element.