-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 associated status or office (collegium; consortium; magisterium); -ium also occurs in scientific coinages on a Latin model, as in names of metallic elements (barium; titanium) and as a Latinization of Gk -ion (pericardium).
Origin of -ium
1Words Nearby -ium
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use -ium in a sentence
The preterite of the German dialect is formed by adding ium to the imperative, which is always the root of the verb.
Carmen | Prosper MerimeeQuinquenniad, kwin-kwen′i-ad, n. a period of five years—also Quinquenn′ium.
Satyrī′n, the argus butterflies; Satyr′ium, a genus of small flowered orchids; Sat′yrus, the genus of orangs—simia.
Triv′ialness; Triv′ium, in medieval schools the name given to the first three liberal arts—viz.
Exuvia -iae -ium: the cast skin of a larval insect: in Diaspinae the larval skin when cast and incorporated in the scale.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology | John. B. Smith
British Dictionary definitions for -ium
indicating a metallic element: platinum; barium
(in chemistry) indicating groups forming positive ions: ammonium chloride; hydroxonium ion
indicating a biological structure: syncytium
Origin of -ium
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse