cobalt

Definition

A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.

Etymology

From German Kobalt, formerly also Kobald, ‑olt, ‑old, ‑elt, ‑el, apparently the same word as Kobold (“goblin”), from Middle High German, which became also a Harz Mountains silver miners’ term for rock laced with arsenic and sulfur, so called because it degraded the ore and made the miners ill. Doublet of kobold.

Example Sentences

• "And although we’ve certainly seen a variety of blue shades — from periwinkle to cobalt and even Dean Cain’s indigo-washed costume from the 1990’s TV show “Lois & Clark” — Superman’s uniform is still instantly recognizable across generations. In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” — in which Superman does not wear his iconic red belted trunks."