Where does “sodium” come from?

sodium (Old Latin) comes from Proto-Italic sodjom, from Proto-Indo-European sodyom, from Proto-Indo-European sḗd- — to sit.

Ancestry of “sodium”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Italicsodjom—
2Proto-Indo-Europeansodyom—
3Proto-Indo-Europeansḗd-to sit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sḗd- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European sodyom →Every word from Proto-Italic sodjom →