And finally Astatine is from the Greek for unstable. All of these elements are derived from descriptive Greek words. Selected Transition Elements - Titanium is after the Titans and Zirconium, know for centuries in various forms of zircon is from the Arabic zargun . Vanadium, which forms compounds in a variety of colors is named after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty, Vanadis . Molybdenum forms soft black minerals which were used for writing and mistakenly was named for the Greek word for lead, molybdos .
Ruthenium is after the Latin word for Russia while Osmium is from the Greek word for odor, osme .
Interestingly, as the mining of cobalt often did not give the expected metal and also produced toxic arsenic fumes, its name is derived from the German Kobold , meaning goblin or evil spirit. Rhodium, from the Greek for rose and Iridium named after the Greek god, Iris, whose sign was the rainbow derive their names from the presence of highly colored compounds. Nickel, known for centuries in China, is found as an ore mistakenly identified by Saxon miners as copper oxide. Mercury, long regarded by alchemist as the key metal in the transmutation to gold is named after the Roman messenger of the gods while the symbol is from the Latin hydrargyrum , meaning liquid silver.