Elementymology & Elements Multidict by Peter van der Krogt
Bromium Bromine
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Multilingual dictionary
Language key
Indo-European
Germanic
Bromine en
Brom de lb da sv no fo
Broom nl af fy
Bróm is
Italic
Brome fr
Bromo es pt gl it
Brom ca fur ro
Bròm oc
Bromu arm
Slavic
Áðîì [brom] ru uk by sr mk bg
Brom pl cs sl hr bos
Bróm kas sk
Baltic
Bromas lt
Broms lv
Brāmas sud
Celtic
Bromin cy
Bróimín ga
Bròimin gd
Bromeen gv
Bromyn kw
Brom br
Other Indo-European
Βρωμιο [vrōmio] el
Brom sq
Բրոմ [brom] hy
Indo-Iranian
Áðîì [brom] oss
Uralic
Bromi fi
Broom et
Bróm hu
Брома [broma] mok
Altaic
Brom tr tg
Áðîì [brom] kk uz mn
Other (Europe)
Bromoa eu
ბრომი [bromi] ka
East- & South-Asia
臭素 [shuuso] ja
[xiu4 / chau3] zh (mand./cant.)
브롬, 2브로민 [beurom, beuromin] ko
Brom vi
โบรมีน [brōmīn] th
Bromin, Brom ms
புரோமின் [purōmin] ta
Afro-Asiatic
بروم [brūm, brūmīn] ar
Bromin mt
ברום [brom] he
Africa
Bromi sw
Artificial
Bromo eo
New names
Bromon (BRM) aen
Additivium dms
Appearance, some properties, a memory peg and a summary of discovery and etymology
Very odiferous, and very volatile deep red-brown liquid which gives off a thick orange-red vapor.
m.p. -7.2 ºC; 19.0 ºF
b.p. 58.78 ºC; 137.8 ºF
density gas 0.00759 g/cc, liquid 2.12 g/cc; gas 0.47383, liquid 132.35 pound/cubic foot
memory peg

1826 Antoine-Jérôme Balard, France
bromos = stench (Greek)
Named by the French Academy of Science

History & Etymology

Bromine Bromine was discovered by two scientists working independently.
Antoine-Jérôme Balard (1802-1876), who was working in a pharmacy school in Montpellier, studying the brown seaweed Fucus, at that time Iodine was manufactured from ash of calcinated Fucus. Balard isolated a new substance. At first he thought that it was a Chlorine or Iodine compound. As he could not isolate the compound, he suggested to have found a new chemical element. Balard suggested the name muride, from the Latin word "muria" for brine.

The French Academy of Science, in turn, proposed the name brome from the Greek word bromos meaning stench (note) to indicate its strong irritating odor. In English the suffix -ine was added, since this suffix was previously used for other halogens

Almost simultaneously, in the Autumn of 1825, student Carl Löwig (1803-1890) took a bottle of a reddish liquid with an unpleasant smell to the Laboratory of Medicine and Chemistry of Prof. Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), at the University of Heidelberg. Löwig told Gmelin that the liquid, of mineral origin, resulted from the treatment with gaseous Chlorine, thus explaining the red color. Gmelin realized that this was an unknown substance and encouraged Löwig to produce more of it so they could study it in detail. Unfortunately, winter exams and the holidays delayed Löwig's work too long. In the mean time, in 1826, Balard published his paper describing the new element.

The Japanese name has the same meaning. For the writing they use the two Chinese characters 臭 shuu kyuu = smell, stink, emit foul odor, and 素 "so" (elementary, principle, naked, or uncovered).

Chemistianity 1873
FTINE
BROMINE, the only liquid Metalloid,
Is an intensely deep dark-red liquid,
Of odour akin to the other —ines;
It irritates and acts as a poison;
J. Carrington Sellars, Chemistianity, 1873, p. 97
Further reading
  • Mary Elvira Weeks, Discovery of the Elements, comp. rev. by Heny M. Leicester (Easton, Pa.: Journal of Chemical Education, 1968), pp. 719-727.

Sources Index of Persons Index of Alleged Elements

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© Peter van der Krogt