evil spirit
→
cobalt (metal)
3 realizations
Related shifts
| ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 |
-
Comment
| ACCEPTED Realization 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Derivation | |
| Language | English | |
| Lexeme 1 | Kobold | |
| Lexeme 2 | cobalt | |
| Meaning 1 | spirit of the mine, undegroud spirit | |
| Direction | — | |
| Meaning 2 | cobalt (metal) | |
| Reference | MW | |
| Comment | Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialize in the form of a non-human animal, a fire, a human, and a candle. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size of small children. The chemical element was named after the name of the spirit. | |
| ACCEPTED Realization 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Derivation | |
| Language | German | |
| Lexeme 1 | Kobold | |
| Lexeme 2 | Kobalt | |
| Meaning 1 | evil spirit | |
| Direction | — | |
| Meaning 2 | cobalt (metal) | |
| Reference | DWDS | |
| Comment | The term Cobalt (Mathesius), also Kobolt (Paracelsus) and Cobel, which appeared in the 16th century, is the Upper Saxon. Form of kobold and (like nickel, tungsten) first a miner's swear word for a mineral considered worthless that does not produce the expected product (e.g. silver) when smelted. According to miners' belief, a mountain spirit (Kobold) planted such a metal after stealing the silver. Since the 17th century, when the metal began to be used to color blue (cf. kobaltblau 'cobalt blue'), the term has become more widespread. | |
| ACCEPTED Realization 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | Mongolian (Khalkha) | |
| Lexeme | albin | |
| Meaning 1 | evil spirit | |
| Direction | — | |
| Meaning 2 | cobalt (metal) | |
| Reference | BAMRS 2001-2002 | |
| Comment | ||