Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tungsten” come from?

Tungsten comes from Swedish tung, meaning "heavy," combined with Swedish sten, meaning "stone," reflecting the mineral's dense nature.

tungsten (English): A rare metallic chemical element with an atomic...

Definitions

  1. A rare metallic chemical element with an atomic...

Ancestry of “tungsten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishtungstenscheelite
2SwedishSten—
3Old Swedishstenstone
4Old NorseSteinn—
5Proto-Norseᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉstone
6Proto-Germanicstainazstone
7Proto-Indo-Europeansteyh₂-to stiffen
8Proto-Indo-Europeansteh₂-to stand

Words derived from “tungsten”

  • tungstate
  • tungstic
  • phosphotungstic
  • phosphotungstate
  • silicotungstic
  • paratungstate
  • metatungstate
  • silicotungstate
  • ferrotungsten
  • tungstenic
  • tungstenite
  • tungstite
  • ditungsten
  • metatungstic acid
  • nontungsten
  • tungstatian
  • radiotungsten
  • polytungstic
  • tungstous
  • tungstenian
  • organotungsten
  • eka-tungsten
  • pyrotungstic
  • monotungstate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European steh₂- →