/ səˈmeəriəm; NAmE -ˈmer-/ noun
[ U ] ( symb Sm ) a chemical element. Samarium is a hard silver-white metal used in making strong magnets .
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WORD ORIGIN
late 19th cent.: from samar(skite) , a mineral in which its spectrum was first observed (named after Samarsky , a 19th-cent. Russian official) + -ium .