a metallic element of the rare earth group; used in lasers; occurs in apatite and monazite and xenotime and ytterbite
A metallic chemical element (symbol Tb) with an atomic number of 65: a soft, silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable and ductile.
Terbium comes from Ytterby, a village in Sweden, with the suffix -ium added to form its name. It shares this Swedish origin with other elements like yttrium, erbium, and ytterbium.