Did you know?
The metallic element "cobalt" ultimately draws its name from folklore. In Middle High German, "kobolt" denoted a usually helpful household elf that engaged in nasty pranks only when it was offended. Later, early Modern German Kobold came to refer to a variety of less helpful goblins inhabiting fields and mountains. The variant "Kobolt" in the 16th century was applied by German miners to ores containing the metal cobalt, which they considered to be worthless; they believed that mountain goblins had spoiled adjacent silver ores, or had stolen the silver within the ore. The metal itself in relatively pure form was not produced and described until the 17th century, when "cobalt," with its first letter influenced by New Latin cobaltum, became part of the international language of science.
Examples of cobalt in a Sentence
Carlton Reid, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2024
Wheaton’s overall production volumes are also set to pick up in the long run, with the company guiding average production of all metals (gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt) could stand at over 800,000 GEOs by 2028.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
It is thought to be chock-full of valuable metals like gold, platinum and cobalt and therefore possibly worth 100,000 times the value of the world's $100 trillion gross domestic product.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
Zoom in: In this hypothetical case, recycling cuts new mine development needs by 40% for copper (see above) and cobalt.
—Ben Geman, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cobalt 
Dictionary Entries Near cobalt
Cite this Entry
“Cobalt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cobalt. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
from German Kobalt "cobalt," an altered form of Kobold, literally, "goblin"; so called because its appearance in silver ore was thought to have been the work of goblins who left it in place of silver which they stole
Medical Definition
cobalt
noun
Share