virginium

English

Etymology

From Virginia (US state) +‎ -ium, proposed in 1930 by Fred Allison, whose claim to have discovered the element was later disproven.

Noun

virginium (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) A rejected name for francium.
   • 2014, Marco Fontani, Mariagrazia Costa, Mary Virginia Orna, The Lost Elements: The Periodic Table's Shadow Side, page 328:

     Because he had found six minima for every salt of virginium—VaCl, VaNO3, Va2SO4, and VaOH—he asserted that virginium consisted of a mixture of six stable isotopes. Allison also found virginium present in other minerals […]