Tungsten, element 74, was identified as a distinct element in
1783 by Spanish Basque brothers and chemists Juan José and
Fausto Elhuyar. The name, however, is older, being used to refer
to the ore in which the element is found. The word tungsten is a
borrowing from Swedish, where it is a compound of tung (heavy) +
sten (stone). Its English use dates to at least 1770.1 The
element is sometimes, especially in older works, referred to by
its German name, wolfram, from which its chemical symbol W
comes. German use of wolfram dates to the 16th century, and its
English use to at least 1757, when it is used in a translation
of Henckel’s Pyritologia: Though this tin ore be not easily
separable from wolfram, a kind of mock-tin, or an irony tin
mineral. The origin of the word wolfram is unknown. It would
seem likely that it is from a proper name, but this is not
certain. Tradition has it that it is a compound of wolf (wolf) +
rahm (cream). The second element could also be râm (soot). It is
said to be the source of the