# potassium

> English word · Noun · IPA /pəˈtæsiəm/ · frequency rank #13,403

## Definitions
1. A soft, waxy, silvery reactive metal that is never found unbound in nature; an element with atomic number 19 and atomic weight of 39.0983.
2. A single atom of this element.

## Etymology
Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1807, from potassa (a Latinized form of potash) + -ium.

## Common misspellings (11)
`optassium`, `poatssium`, `potasisum`, `potasium`, `potassimu`, `potassiumm`, `potassuim`, `potsasium`, `pottassium`, `ppotassium`, `ptoassium`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/potassium