calcium

Etymology

Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1808, from Latin calx (“lime, limestone”) because it occurs in limestone.

noun

  1. The chemical element (Symbol Ca), with an atomic number 20. It is a soft, silvery-white alkaline earth metal which occurs naturally as carbonate in limestone and as silicate in many rocks.
    Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:[…]. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom. 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist
  2. (countable) An atom of this element.

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