yttrium (English)

Where does "yttrium" come from?

The English noun 'yttrium' is derived from the place name 'Ytterby' combined with the chemical suffix '-ium'[1]. The location itself originates from Swedish 'Ytterby'[2], combining 'ytter' meaning 'outer'[3] and 'by' meaning 'village'[3]. This Swedish village name also serves as the etymological source for the elements terbium, erbium, and ytterbium[1].

Full etymology tree

• yttrium (English), 'A silvery metallic chemical element (symbol Y) with an atomic number of 39, mainly found in combination with lanthanide elements in rare-earth minerals.'
  • derived Ytterby (Swedish), 'Ytterby'
    • compound ytter (Swedish), 'winger'
    • compound by (Swedish), 'hamlet'
      • inherited bȳr (Old Swedish)
        • inherited býr (Old Norse), 'alternative form of bǿr'
  • suffix -ium (English), 'Used to form the names of metal elements, after the style of early-named elements, as well as the isotopes of hydrogen.'

Ancestors

• Ytterby (English)

Descendants and derived words

• yttric (English)
• yttriferous (English)
• yttrious (English)
• yttrium-90 (English)
• yttrium fluoride (English)
• yttrium iron garnet (English)
• yttrium lithium fluoride (English)
• yttrium oxide (English)
• yttro- (English)

Sources

1. yttrium (English) - Wiktionary
2. Ytterby (English) - Wiktionary
3. Ytterby (Swedish) - Wiktionary
4. by (Swedish) - Wiktionary
5. ytter (Swedish) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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