germanium Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a brittle grey crystalline element that is a semiconducting metalloid (resembling silicon) used in transistors; occurs in germanite and argyrodite
    Ge; atomic number 32.

WordNet

Ger*ma"ni*um noun
Etymology
NL., fr. L. Germania Germany.
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) A rare element, recently discovered (1885), in a silver ore (argyrodite) at Freiberg. It is a brittle, silver-white metal, chemically intermediate between the metals and nonmetals, resembles tin, and is in general identical with the predicted ekasilicon. Symbol Ge. Atomic weight 72.3.

Webster 1913