cobalt (English)

Where does "cobalt" come from?

The English word 'cobalt' originates from the German 'Kobalt'[1], which is a doublet of the word 'kobold'[1]. Historically, this term for the chemical element evolved from a Middle High German miners term used in the Harz Mountains to describe ore laced with arsenic and sulfur[1]. Because this substance degraded the quality of the silver ore and reportedly caused illness among the miners, it was named after the 'kobold', or goblin[1]. The word 'kobold' itself is believed to derive from the Middle High German 'kobe', meaning 'shed' or 'sty', combined with a term related to 'hold', meaning 'gracious' or 'friendly', which served as a euphemism for these mischievous beings[3].

Open questions

• The etymological connection between the ore name and the goblin term remains an interpretation of the historical usage by miners. [1]

Full etymology tree

• cobalt (English), 'A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.'
  • borrowed Kobalt (German), 'cobalt'
    • inherited Kobold (German), 'kobold, goblin'
      • inherited Kobold (Middle High German)
        • compound kobe (Middle High German)
        • compound *holt (Middle High German)
          • derived hold (Middle High German)
            • inherited *hulþaz (Proto-Germanic), 'inclined, favourable (towards)'

Ancestors

• Kobalt (German)

Cognates and doublets

• kobold (English)

Descendants and derived words

• anticobalt (English)
• cobalamin (English)
• cobalt-60 (English)
• cobaltammine (English)
• cobaltarthurite (English)
• cobaltate (English)
• cobaltaustinite (English)
• cobalt blue (English)
• cobalt blue (English)
• cobalt bomb (English)
• cobalt chelatase (English)
• cobalt green (English)

Sources

1. cobalt (English) - Wiktionary
2. Kobalt (German) - Wiktionary
3. Kobold (German) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris