dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm 

-zh(ē-)əm

: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of dysprosium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These materials include aluminum, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, electrical steel, fluorine, gallium, iridium, lithium, magnesium, graphite, neodymium, nickel, platinum, praseodymium, silicon, silicon carbide and terbium. —Sahit Muja, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

In tests, the process demonstrated a recovery rate of 96% for neodymium (Nd) and 91% for dysprosium (Dy). —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 16 Aug. 2025

Neodymium and dysprosium are used in the permanent magnets of wind turbines, lanthanum in electric and hybrid car batteries. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 11 July 2025

The mud is believed to contain dysprosium and neodymium, which are used in electric vehicle motor magnets, as well as gadolinium and terbium, used in various high-tech products, Ishii said. —Yuka Obayashi, Reuters, 4 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Greek dysprósitos "difficult to access" (from dys- dys- + prósitos "approachable," verbal adjective of próseimi, prosiénai "to go toward, approach," from pros- pros- + eîmi, iénai "to go") + New Latin -ium -ium — more at issue entry 1

Note: The element was named by the first person to isolate it, the French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), reported in "Le holmine (ou terre X de M. Soret) contient au moins deux radicaux métalliques," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences, tome 102 (janvier-juin 1886), pp. 1003-04. The name was apparently given because several hundred fractionations ("plusieurs centaines de fractionnements") were required to isolate a sufficient amount of it to test spectroscopically.

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dysprosium

• symposium

Kids Definition

dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm 

-zh(ē-)əm

: a chemical element that forms very magnetic compounds see element

Medical Definition

dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm  -zh(ē-)əm 

: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds

—symbol Dy see Chemical Elements Table