-ium
a suffix found on nouns borrowed from latin, especially derivatives of verbs (odium; tedium; colloquium; delirium), deverbal compounds with the initial element denoting the object of the verb (nasturtium), other types of compounds (equilibrium; millennium), and derivatives of personal nouns, often denoting the -ssociated status or office (collegium; consortium; magisterium); -ium, also occurs in scientific coinages on a latin model, as in names of metallic elements (barium; t-tanium) and as a latinization of gk -ion (pericardium).
-ium
suffix
indicating a metallic element platinum, barium
(in chemistry) indicating groups forming positive ions ammonium chloride, hydroxonium ion
indicating a biological structure syncytium
word origin
-ium suff.
chemical element or group: californium.
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