yttrium Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
    Y; atomic number 39.

WordNet

Yt"tri*um noun
Etymology
NL., from Ytterby, in Sweden. See Erbium.
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) A rare metallic element of the boron-aluminium group, found in gadolinite and other rare minerals, and extracted as a dark gray powder. Symbol Y. Atomic weight, 89. Written also ittrium. ✍ Associated with yttrium are certain rare elements, as erbium, ytterbium, samarium, etc., which are separated in a pure state with great difficulty. They are studied by means of their spark or phosphorescent spectra. Yttrium is now regarded as probably not a simple element, but as a mixture of several substances. yttrium has been isolated as a pure element.

Webster 1913