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
2SwedishStena stone; a rock
3Old Swedishstenstone
4Old NorseSteinna stone, boulder, rock
5Proto-Norseᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉstone
6Proto-Germanicstainazstone
7Proto-Indo-Europeansteyh₂-to stiffen
8Proto-Indo-Europeansteh₂-to stand

Words derived from “tungsten

Every word from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-