pəˈlōnēəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: New Latin, from Medieval Latin Polonia Poland + New Latin -ium; from the fact that Marja Sklodowska Curie died 1934 French physical chemist, who together with her husband Pierre Curie died 1906 French chemist discovered polonium, was Polish by birth
: a radioactive metallic element that is similar chemically to tellurium and bismuth, that occurs in pitchblende and other uranium-containing ores, in radium-lead residues, and in old radon ampuls but can be produced in much larger quantities by bombarding bismuth with neutrons in nuclear reactors, and that emits a helium nucleus to form an isotope of lead — symbol Po ; see actinium series , thorium series , uranium series ; element table