noun Uranium n. (Chem.) An element of the chromium group, found in certain rare minerals, as pitchblende, uranite, etc., and reduced as a heavy, hard, nickel-white metal which is quite permanent. Its yellow oxide is used to impart to glass a delicate greenish-yellow tint which is accompanied by a strong fluorescence, and its black oxide is used as a pigment in porcelain painting. Symbol U. Atomic weight 239. Note: Uranium was discovered in the state of an oxide by Klaproth in 1789, and so named in honor of Herschel's discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781.
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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