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The metallic element "cobalt" ultimately draws its name from folklore. In Middle High German, "kobolt" denoted a usually helpful household elf that engaged in nasty pranks only when it was offended. Later, early Modern German Kobold came to refer to a variety of less helpful goblins inhabiting fields and mountains. The variant "Kobolt" in the 16th century was applied by German miners to ores containing the metal cobalt, which they considered to be worthless; they believed that mountain goblins had spoiled adjacent silver ores, or had stolen the silver within the ore. The metal itself in relatively pure form was not produced and described until the 17th century, when "cobalt," with its first letter influenced by New Latin cobaltum, became part of the international language of science.
Examples of cobalt in a Sentence
David Bressan, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
There are concerns that China could go further and restrict the export of nickel or cobalt, which are both major components of the rechargeable batteries found in electronic devices; such a move could prompt prices to spike and many countries beyond the U.S. to search for their own supplies.
—Byandrew Nusca, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2024
The Lobito Corridor will be an upgrade and extension of a railway line from the copper and cobalt mines of northern Zambia and southern Congo to Angola’s Atlantic Ocean port of Lobito, a route west for Africa’s critical minerals.
—Gerald Imray, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
The lithium-ion batteries that power most electronics are made with lithium (of course), nickel, and cobalt.
—Vince Beiser, TIME, 29 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Cobalt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cobalt. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
from German Kobalt "cobalt," an altered form of Kobold, literally, "goblin"; so called because its appearance in silver ore was thought to have been the work of goblins who left it in place of silver which they stole
Medical Definition
cobalt
noun
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