a brittle silver-white metalloid element that is related to selenium and sulfur; it is used in alloys and as a semiconductor; occurs mainly as tellurides in ores of copper and nickel and silver and gold
The chemical element with atomic number 52. Symbol: Te. A rare, brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white metalloid.
A variant spelling of tellurion.
The name comes from the Latin word tellūs, meaning "earth," combined with the suffix -ium. It was chosen to reflect the element's close connection to the planet.