D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Tantalum

/tăn'tələm/ · Tan·ta·lum · IPA /ˈtæntələm/
01 n. A rare nonmetallic element found in certain minerals, as tantalite, samarskite, and fergusonite, and isolated as a dark powder which become…
  1. 1.
    A rare nonmetallic element found in certain minerals, as tantalite, samarskite, and fergusonite, and isolated as a dark powder which becomes steel-gray by burnishing. Symbol Ta. Atomic weight 182.0. Formerly called also tantalium.(Chem.) Also: tantalium