a soft bluish-white ductile malleable toxic bivalent metallic element; occurs in association with zinc ores
"The geologist carefully analyzed the rock sample, noting that traces of cadmium were present alongside the abundant zinc ores."
A chemical element (symbol Cd) with an atomic number of 48: a soft, silvery-white metal.
"The old battery was discarded immediately after technicians found that its casing had corroded into toxic cadmium dust."
The name comes from Ancient Greek kadmeía, meaning "calamine," a mineral mixture containing cadmium. This term was originally named after the legendary king Cadmus.