tungsten

• tungstenum

From Swedish tungsten (“scheelite”), from tung (“heavy”) + sten (“stone”).

• (UK, US) enPR: tŭng'stən, IPA^(key): /ˈtʌŋstən/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General American):

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• Rhymes: -ʌŋstən

tungsten (countable and uncountable, plural tungstens)

2. A rare metallic chemical element (symbol W, from Latin wolframium) with an atomic number of 74.
   • 1990 April 7, Ivan Amato, “Getting a feel for atoms: 'magic wrist' takes scientists into a new sensory realm”, in Science News‎^[1]:

     So far they have built and used a prototype robot to make millionth-of-a-meter scratches in aluminum with a fine tungsten needle.

3. A light bulb containing tungsten.
   • 1909, E. A. Baily, “The Tungsten Lamp Situation in Various Cities”, in Electrical Age, volume XL, number 10, page 262:

     We have several business houses where tungstens are used as window lights only, and find that in nearly every one the wiring was arranged to get more light, leaving the consumption about the same.

   • 1979 August, Graham Burtenshaw, Michael S. Welch, “O.V.S. Bulleid's SR loco-hauled coaches - 1”, in Railway World, page 398:

     Lighting was unimaginative for the standard stock with naked tungsten filament bulbs and metal reflectors. However, all compartments had individual reading lights above the seats with attractive glass shades.

4. (mineralogy, obsolete) scheelite, calcium tungstate
   • 1783, “[Review of] Outlines of Mineralogy”, in Monthly Review, volume LXX, number VII, page 47:

     We apprehend that this is not the acid of a calx ponderoſa, but rather a diſtinct acid conjoined to common calcareous earth, ſince, in fact, in another place, § 97, the tungſten is mentioned as a calx ſaturated with a peculiar acid, perhaps of a metallic nature, for which the author himſelf refers us to the above § 33, and ſeems to think it the ſame as the acid there mentioned.

• wolfram

• tungstate

• → Japanese: タングステン (tangusuten)
• → Malay: tungsten
• → Spanish: tungsteno

• ferberite
• huebnerite
• scheelite
• wolframite

• “tungsten”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Borrowed from Swedish tungsten.

tungsten m

1. tungsten

Borrowed from English tungsten, from Swedish tungsten (“scheelite”), from tung (“heavy”) + sten (“stone”).

tungsten m

1. tungsten

From English tungsten, from Swedish tungsten (“scheelite”).

• IPA^(key): [tuŋstən]
• Rhymes: -stən, -ən

tungsten (Jawi spelling توڠستن, plural tungsten-tungsten)

1. tungsten

   Synonyms: siamang, wolfram

Borrowed from French tungstène.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtunɡ.sten/

tungsten n (uncountable)

1. tungsten

   Synonym: wolfram

• “tungsten”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

tung (“heavy”) +‎ sten (“rock”)

tungsten c

1. (somewhat dated) scheelite

   Synonym: scheelit

2. (dated) tungsten, wolfram

   Synonym: volfram

• tungsten in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• tungsten in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• tungsten in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)