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The metallic element "cobalt" ultimately draws its name from folklore. In Middle High German, "kobolt" denoted a usually helpful household elf that engaged in nasty pranks only when it was offended. Later, early Modern German Kobold came to refer to a variety of less helpful goblins inhabiting fields and mountains. The variant "Kobolt" in the 16th century was applied by German miners to ores containing the metal cobalt, which they considered to be worthless; they believed that mountain goblins had spoiled adjacent silver ores, or had stolen the silver within the ore. The metal itself in relatively pure form was not produced and described until the 17th century, when "cobalt," with its first letter influenced by New Latin cobaltum, became part of the international language of science.
Examples of cobalt in a Sentence
Chad De Guzman, Time, 3 Apr. 2025
Being able to recover more energy under braking obviously helps efficiency, but there's also new battery chemistry with a different ratio of nickel:manganese:cobalt from before, plus a lot of work on the 800 V battery pack's cooling system.
—ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
In 2020, the World Bank estimated that the global production of minerals such as cobalt and lithium would have to be increased by over 450% by 2050 to meet the growing demand for clean energy technology.
—Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025
To start, Polestar uses NMC (lithium nickel manganese cobalt) batteries with prismatic cells, unlike the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry that many other manufacturers are increasingly turning to, largely for cost reasons.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Ars Technica, 25 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Cobalt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cobalt. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
from German Kobalt "cobalt," an altered form of Kobold, literally, "goblin"; so called because its appearance in silver ore was thought to have been the work of goblins who left it in place of silver which they stole
Medical Definition
cobalt
noun
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