ETYM New Lat. Related to Cadmia.
Soft, silver-white, ductile, and malleable metallic element, symbol Cd, atomic number 48, atomic weight 112.40. Cadmium occurs in nature as a sulfide or carbonate in zinc ores. It is a toxic metal that, because of industrial dumping, has become an environmental pollutant. It is used in batteries, electroplating, and as a constituent of alloys used for bearings with low coefficients of friction; it is also a constituent of an alloy with a very low melting point.
Cadmium is also used in the control rods of nuclear reactors, because of its high absorption of neutrons. It was named in 1817 by the German chemist Friedrich Strohmeyer (1776–1835) after Greek mythological character Cadmus.
A soft bluish-white ductile malleable toxic bivalent metallic element; occurs in association with zinc ores; SYN. Cd, atomic number 48.