Definition of "cadmium" []

• A soft, bluish-white metallic element occurring primarily in zinc, copper, and lead ores, that is easily cut with a knife and is used in low-friction, fatigue-resistant alloys, solders, dental amalgams, nickel-cadmium storage batteries, nuclear reactor shields, and in rustproof electroplating. Atomic number 48; atomic weight 112.41; melting point 320.9°C; boiling point 765°C; specific gravity 8.65; valence 2. See Table at element. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Strohmeyer coined the name cadmium, derived from the Latin word cadmia which means calamine."
• "The best explanation for the shift to making items that are predominantly cadmium is that Chinese manufacturers needed a cheap alternative to lead – and cadmium prices had plummeted due to excess supplies from the shriveling nickel-cadmium battery market."
• "Two years after sweeping rules sought to limit lead in children's products, another toxic heavy metal, cadmium, is causing concern."