ˈbōrˌän, ˈbȯˌrän noun
( -s )
Etymology: bor ax + -on (as in carbon )
: a high-melting trivalent metalloid element that is known both in an extremely hard shiny black crystalline form and in the form of a greenish yellow or brown amorphous powder, that occurs in nature only in combination (as in borax and boric acid and as a trace element in plants and animals), that is usually obtained by electrolysis of fused potassium fluoborate and potassium chloride or by thermal reduction of other compounds (as boric oxide), and that is used chiefly in metallurgy (as for increasing the hardenability of steel) and in nucleonics because of its high absorption of neutrons — symbol B ; see element table