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vanadium

(Science: chemistry, element) A rare element of the nitrogen-phosphorus group, found combined, in vanadates, in certain minerals, and reduced as an infusible, grayish-white metallic powder. It is intermediate between the metals and the non-metals, having both basic and acid properties.

atomic weight: 51.2

Abbreviation: V

Origin: NL, fr. Icel. Vanadis, a surname of the Scandinavian goddess Freya.