 Early precursors of the word beryllium can be traced to many languages, including Latin Beryllus; French Béry; Greek βήρυλλος, bērullos, beryl; Prakrit veruliya (वॆरुलिय ‌); Pāli veḷuriya (वेलुरिय), veḷiru (भेलिरु) or viḷar (भिलर ्) – "to become pale", in reference to the pale semiprecious gemstone beryl. The original source is probably the Sanskrit word वैडूर ् य (vaidurya), which is of Dravidian origin and could be related to the name of the modern city of Belur. For about 160 years, beryllium was also known as glucinum or glucinium (with the accompanying chemical symbol "Gl", or "G"), the name coming from the Greek word for sweet: γλυκυς, due to the sweet taste of beryllium salts.
