English
titanium
Titanium comes from Latin Tītān, and goes back to Ancient Greek Τῑτᾱ́ν.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΤῑτᾱ́ν1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CETītān2
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtitanium3
- Englishearliest quotation 2025titanium3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin Titan
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin titanium
- 3 Wiktionary, English titanium
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, FDA moves to eliminate carcinogenic Red 3 from foods: “Even as FDA works to develop that plan, consumers…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΤῑτᾱ́νWiktionary, Latin Titan
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CETītānWiktionary, Latin titanium
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtitaniumWiktionary, English titanium
- Englishearliest quotation 2025titaniumWiktionary, English titanium. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, FDA moves to eliminate carcinogenic Red 3 from foods: “Even as FDA works to develop that plan, consumers…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
pain, penalty, poetry, poem, poet, punishment, pine, punish, penal, subpoena, whey, punitive, impunity, onomatopoeia, 22 more
through Ancient Greek τείνω ‘to stretch, extend’
Today it means
noun A chemical element (symbol Ti), atomic number 22; it is a strong, corrosion-resistant transition metal, used to make light alloys for aircraft etc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “titanium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin Titan, Latin titanium. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek Τῑτᾱ́ν / titanium