boron

Etymology

From the stem of borax + -on (ending used to form names of substances). Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy as a modification of his earlier word boracium.

noun

1. The chemical element (symbol B) with an atomic number of 5, which is a metalloid found in its pure form as a dark amorphous powder.
   The B₆-type octahedral borons are each bonded to five other boron atoms; four are part of the same octahedron, and one is external to this octahedron. 1976, Allen M[yron] Alper, editor, Phase Diagrams: Materials Science and Technology (Refractory Materials; 6), New York, N.Y., London: Academic Press, page 106
2. A single atom of this element.
   For each X point, four borons in the same plane composing a B₆ cluster provide these orbitals. 10 August 2001, J. Akimitsu, K. Takenawa, K. Suzuki, H. Harima, Y. Kuramoto, “High-Temperature Ferromagnetism in CaB₂C₂”, in Science, volume 293, number 5532, →DOI, pages 1125–1127