palladium

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a rare, lustrous, silvery-white chemical element with atomic number 46 and symbol Pd

   Palladium is widely used as a catalyst in vehicle exhaust systems.

2. 2
   noun

   literary, something believed to protect or preserve a nation, institution, or principle

   The speaker called trial by jury a palladium of civil liberty.

The element was named in 1803 after the asteroid Pallas, discovered shortly before. The older safeguard sense comes through Latin Palladium from Greek Palladion, the sacred image of Pallas Athena believed to protect Troy.

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