Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A soft, light, extremely malleable silver-white metallic element that reacts explosively with water, is naturally abundant in combined forms, especially in common salt, and is used in the production of a wide variety of industrially important compounds. Atomic number 11; atomic weight 22.99; melting point 97.8°C; boiling point 892°C; specific gravity 0.971; valence 1. See Table at element.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Chemical symbol, Na (natrium); atomic weight, 23. The metallic base of the alkali soda. See soda and metallurgy It was first isolated by Davy, in 1807, by electrolysis, and is at present obtained on a large scale by igniting sodium carbonate with charcoal. Sodium is a silver-white metal with a high luster, but it oxidizes rapidly on exposure to moist air. Heated in the air, it burns rapidly with a bright-yellow fiame, very characteristic of the metal; thrown into cold water, it oxidizes, but does not become hot enough to set the evolved hydrogen on fire, as potassium does; with hot water, ignition of the hydrogen takes place. Its specific gravity at 56° is 0.9735; at the ordinary temperature it has the consistency of wax; at 204° it melts, and forms a liquid resembling mercury in appearance. Next to silver, copper, and gold, it is, of the metals, the best conductor of heat and electricity; next to cæsium, rubidium, and potassium, it is the most electropositive of the metals. It is extensively used in the laboratory as a powerful reducing agent; it is closely analogous to potassium in its chemical relations. Two of its compounds are very widely diffused in nature, and of the highest importance from various points of view; these are common salt and sodium carbonate, or soda.
Wiktionary
- n. A soft, waxy, silvery reactive metal that is never found unbound in nature, and a chemical element (symbol Na) with an atomic number of 11 and atomic weight of 22.98977.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Chem.) A common metallic element of the alkali group, in nature always occuring combined, as in common salt, in albite, etc. It is isolated as a soft, waxy, white, unstable metal, so highly reactive that it combines violently with water, and to be preserved must be kept under petroleum or some similar liquid. Sodium is used combined in many salts, in the free state as a reducer, and as a means of obtaining other metals (as magnesium and aluminium) is an important commercial product. Symbol Na (
Natrium ). Atomic weight 22.990. Specific gravity 0.97.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group; occurs abundantly in natural compounds (especially in salt water); burns with a yellow flame and reacts violently in water; occurs in sea water and in the mineral halite (rock salt)
Etymologies
- Coined by Humphry Davy in 1807, from soda. (Wiktionary)
- sod(a) + -ium. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“A diet high in sodium, fats, meat, and sugar and low in fiber, vegetable protein, and unrefined carbohydrates increases the risk for renal stone disease.”
“And over a third of that sodium is in the ketchup, and a third in the bun.”
“The products contain sodium fluoride, which is effective in preventing cavities but has not been shown to be effective in removing plaque or preventing gum disease, the FDA said.”
“The commonly quoted RDI for sodium is 2300mg, 10 times (not double) the amount in a small McDs fries.”
How Unhealthy Are Australia’s Takeaway Fries? | Lifehacker Australia
“Indiana University gastroenterologist Douglas Rex says he's been switching older patients to fluid bowel-cleansers that don't contain sodium phosphate since the first reports of kidney problems came out in 2005.”
“Second, it's what comes with (or fails to be included with) her "shortcuts" - even if I have a very heavy hand on the saltshaker, home-cooked food is lower in sodium than processed foods.”
“As for the nutrition facts … you get about 500 mg of sodium from the sumeshi, and then you get about 300 something mg of sodium from one jalapeño (I assumed there would be the equivalent of one jalapeño in each roll).”
“As anyone with a semester of chemistry should realize, metallic sodium is a liquid at the boiling point of water, so that is behaves like water in that respect.”
“Many forms of baking powder contain sodium bicarbonate combined with cream of tartar.”
“For example, Na for sodium comes from the Latin natrium, and Au for gold comes from the Latin aurum, which means shining dawn.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sodium’.
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INTA - GSP product categories
alkali metals, alkaline-earth me..., sodium, calcium, rare-earth metals, scandium, yttrium, intermixed, interalloyed, aluminium oxide, artificial corundum, ammonium sulphate and 99 more...
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Of Arabic Origin
Arabic loanwords in English are words acquired directly from Arabic or else indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. Most entered one or more of the Romance lan...
admiral, adobe, albatross, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, alfalfa, algebra, algorism, algorithm, alidade and 181 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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TECH - metals and alloys
embrittle, braze, nickel alloy, metallize, Inconel, eutectic, metalize, vapor pressure, corrosion-resistant, alloy, stainless steel, neutron flux and 262 more...
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Chemical Elements
A list of chemical elements
hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium and 106 more...
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Nutrition
List of vitamins, minerals and substances beneficial to a healthy diet.
probiotic, prebiotic, vitamin K, vitamin D, calcium, carotene, zinc, sodium, potassium, glucosamine, Docosahexaenoic acid, protein and 9 more...
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eleven eleven
undecagon, undecennial, hendecasyllabic, enleven, Lysistrata, undecane, Elfstedentocht, endecaphyllous, porsche 911, Secession, testone, Hvergelmir and 16 more...
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alchemicality
alchemical, alchemy, alchemist, hermetic, hermeticism, philosopher's stone, splendor solis, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur and 258 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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GPaX. Words.
excogitate, clarity, obscurity, tangential, interesting, regurgitate, mycelium, degradation, unladen, swallow, klein, quote and 120 more...
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The Elements
hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium and 99 more...
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food
food, chef, spice, salt, sugar, pumpkin, apples, fruit, vegetable, savory, soup, sauce and 280 more...
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nfk9595's Words
magnetohydrodynamics, bovine, epistle, gargantuan, kerfuffle, verbiage, morose, coup de main, elan, achtung, uber, verboten and 497 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for sodium.

fbharjo atomic number 11 Nov 12, 2010
oroboros Na. Dec 15, 2007