gallium

noun

gal·​li·​um ˈga-lē-əm 

: a bluish-white metallic element obtained especially as a by-product in refining various ores and used especially in semiconductors and optoelectronic devices see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of gallium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like gallium and germanium, antimony is also used to manufacture semiconductor devices, such as infrared sensors and diodes. —Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024

Last year, China slapped export controls on gallium and germanium — rare earths essential for manufacturing semiconductors — in response to restrictions by the US, the Netherlands, and Japan on the exports of some semiconductor equipment to China. —Hanna Ziady, CNN, 14 Aug. 2024

In 2023, the Chinese government rolled out new export controls on graphite as well as gallium and germanium—minerals for which Western dependence on Chinese supplies is particularly high. —Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 14 Jan. 2025

On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce proposed new restrictions on exports of technology used to make battery cathodes, as well as those used to process gallium and lithium, key minerals used for electronics and electric vehicles. —Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 3 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Gallia "Gaul, France" (going back to Latin) + -ium -ium

Note: The element was named by the first person to isolate it, the French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), reported in "Caractères chimiques et spectroscopiques dʼun nouveau métal, le Gallium, découvert dans une blende de la mine de Pierrefitte, vallée dʼArgelès," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de lʼAcadémie des Sciences, tome 81 (juillet-décembre 1875), pp. 493-95. In a later publication, Lecoq de Boisbaudran explained the origin of the name: " … jʼai aperçu les premiers indices de lʼexistence dʼun nouvel élément, que jʼai nommé «gallium» en lʼhonneur de la France (Gallia)" (" … I perceived the first signs of the existence of a new element, which I named "gallium" in honor of France (Gallia)") ("Sur un nouveau métal, le gallium," Annales de chimie et de physique, 5. série, tome 10 [1877], p. 103). The later hypothesis that gallium was formed from Latin gallus "cock," as a translation of the chemistʼs surname "Lecoq," is without apparent foundation. (Though the evidence is clear, there is on the other hand no indication that Lecoq de Boisbaudran ever explicitly denied the association.)

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gallium

• gallium arsenide

Rhymes for gallium

• allium
• pallium
• thallium

Kids Definition

gallium

noun

gal·​li·​um ˈgal-ē-əm 

: a bluish white metallic element see element

Medical Definition

gallium

noun

gal·​li·​um ˈgal-ē-əm 

: a rare bluish white metallic element that is hard and brittle at low temperatures but melts just above room temperature and expands on freezing and that is used in the form of its hydrated nitrate salt Ga(NO₃)₃·9H₂O to treat hypercalcemia caused by certain cancers

—symbol Ga see Chemical Elements Table