A rare earth of the lanthanide series

• Silvery metallic element
• Element with symbol Yb
• A soft silvery metallic element
• One of the rare earths
• It occurs in gadolinite and monazite and xenotime

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
metallic rare-earth element, 1879, coined in Modern Latin by Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander (1797-1858) from Ytterby , name of a town in Sweden where mineral containing it was found.

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
Ytterbium is a chemical element with symbol Yb and atomic number 70. It is the fourteenth and penultimate element in the lanthanide series, which is the basis of the relative stability of its +2 oxidation state . However, like the other lanthanides, its ...

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. a soft silvery metallic element; a rare earth of the lanthanide series; it occurs in gadolinite and monazite and xenotime [syn: Yb , atomic number 70 ]

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ytterbium \Yt*ter"bi*um\, n. [NL., fr. Ytterby, in Sweden. See Erbium .] (Chem.) A rare element of the boron group, sometimes associated with yttrium or other related elements, as in euxenite and gadolinite. Symbol Yb; provisional atomic weight 173.2. Cf. ...