terbium

See also: Terbium

English

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: dysprosium (Dy) →
English Wikipedia article on Terbium

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *úd

Proto-Germanic *ūt

Old Norse út

Old Norse ýtrider.

Swedish yttre

Swedish ytter-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-

Proto-Germanic *būaną

Old Norse búa

Old Norse býr

Old Swedish bȳr

Swedish by

Swedish Ytterbybor.

English Ytterby

Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-ijos

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -iusnom.

Latin -iumlbor.

English -ium

English terbium

From Ytterby +‎ -ium, named after Ytterby, Sweden. Doublet of erbium, ytterbium, and yttrium

Pronunciation

• enPR: tûrʹbē-əm
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɝ.bi.əm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)biəm

Noun

terbium (uncountable)

2. (chemistry) A metallic chemical element (symbol Tb) with an atomic number of 65: a soft, silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable and ductile.
   • 2025 July 18, Timothy McLaughlin, “A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border. The Kachin Independence Organization fought for decades in obscurity. Now it's supplying essential minerals to manufacturers around the world”, in Bloomberg Businessweek‎^[1], archived from the original on 18 July 2025:

     Myanmar is the world's third-largest source of rare earths after China and the US, and last year it accounted for almost half of the global mining of two especially important elements: dysprosium and terbium, which are essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines and certain military gear. […] The most important application of dysprosium and terbium, which belong to a subgroup known as the heavy rare earths, is in devices called neodymium boron magnets, or neo magnets for short. In small quantities, dysprosium and terbium allow neo magnets to operate at far higher temperatures than they otherwise could. Thus improved, they're key components in the drivetrains of EVs; the stronger the magnets, the more efficient an electric motor can be. They can also enhance the rotation of wind turbines and are used in the precision targeting systems of missiles.

   1. (countable) An atom of this element.

Derived terms

• diterbium
• radioterbium
• sodium terbium borate
• terbate
• terbia
• terbian
• terbic
• terbium oxide
• terbium peroxide
• terbium trichloride
• tetraterbium

Related terms

• erbium
• terbic
• ytterbium
• yttrium

Translations

chemical element

• Afrikaans: terbium (af)
• Albanian: terbium
• Arabic: تِرْبِيُوم m (tirbiyūm)
• Armenian: տերբիում (hy) (terbium)
• Asturian: terbiu (ast) m
• Basque: terbioa
• Belarusian: тэ́рбій m (térbij)
• Breton: terbiom (br)
• Bulgarian: те́рбий m (térbij)
• Catalan: terbi (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鋱 / 铽 (zh) (tè)

• Cornish: terbyum
• Czech: terbium (cs)
• Danish: terbium (da)
• Dutch: terbium (nl) n
• Esperanto: terbio (eo)
• Estonian: terbium (et)
• Faroese: terbium n
• Finnish: terbium (fi)
• French: terbium (fr) m
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: terbium

• Friulian: terbi
• Galician: terbio (gl) m
• Georgian: ტერბიუმი (ṭerbiumi)
• German: Terbium (de) n
• Greek: τέρβιο (el) n (térvio)
• Hebrew: טרביום (he) (térbiyum)
• Hindi: इद्भृशला (idbhŕślā)
• Hungarian: terbium (hu)
• Icelandic: terbín (is)
• Irish: teirbiam
• Italian: terbio (it) m
• Japanese: テルビウム (ja) (terubiumu)
• Kashubian: terb
• Kazakh: тербий (terbiyy)
• Khmer: ទែប្យូម (tɛɛpyoum)
• Korean: 테르븀 (ko) (tereubyum), 터븀 (teobyum)
• Latin: terbium (la)
• Latvian: terbijs
• Lithuanian: terbis (lt)
• Luxembourgish: Terbium
• Macedonian: те́рбиум m (térbium)
• Malay: terbium
• Maltese: terbjum
• Manx: çherbium
• Mongolian: терби (terbi)
• Norwegian: terbium
• Polish: terb (pl) m
• Portuguese: térbio (pt) m
• Romanian: terbiu (ro) n
• Russian: те́рбий (ru) m (térbij)
• Scottish Gaelic: teirbiam
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: тербиjум m, тербиj m

  Latin: terbijum m, terbij (sh) m

• Slovak: terbium n
• Slovene: terbij (sl)
• Spanish: terbio (es) m
• Swedish: terbium (sv) n
• Tajik: тербий (terbiy)
• Tamil: தென்னிரும்பு (teṉṉirumpu)
• Thai: เทอร์เบียม (təə-bîiam)
• Turkish: terbiyum (tr)
• Ukrainian: те́рбій m (térbij)
• Uzbek: terbiy (uz), тербий (terbiy)
• Vietnamese: tecbi
• Welsh: terbiwm

Anagrams

• imbrute

Afrikaans

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: disprosium (Dy) →

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

terbium (uncountable)

1. terbium

Danish

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: dysprosium (Dy) →

Etymology

From Swedish Ytterby +‎ -ium.

Noun

terbium n (indeclinable)

1. terbium

References

• “terbium” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: dysprosium (Dy) →

Etymology

Borrowed. Named after Ytterby in Sweden.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛr.biˌʏm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ter‧bi‧um
• Rhymes: -ɛrbiʏm

Noun

terbium n (uncountable, no diminutive)

1. terbium

Related terms

• erbium
• ytterbium
• yttrium

Estonian

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadoliinium (Gd)
Next: düsproosium (Dy) →

Etymology

From German Terbium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈterːb̥iu̯m/, [ˈterːb̥iu̯m]
• Rhymes: -erːbium
• Hyphenation: ter‧bium

Noun

terbium (genitive terbiumi, partitive terbiumi or terbiumit)

1. terbium

Declension

Declension of terbium (ÕS type 19/seminar, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		terbium	terbiumid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	terbiumi
genitive			terbiumide
partitive		terbiumi	terbiume terbiumisid
illative		terbiumi terbiumisse	terbiumidesse terbiumesse
inessive		terbiumis	terbiumides terbiumes
elative		terbiumist	terbiumidest terbiumest
allative		terbiumile	terbiumidele terbiumele
adessive		terbiumil	terbiumidel terbiumel
ablative		terbiumilt	terbiumidelt terbiumelt
translative		terbiumiks	terbiumideks terbiumeks
terminative		terbiumini	terbiumideni
essive		terbiumina	terbiumidena
abessive		terbiumita	terbiumideta
comitative		terbiumiga	terbiumidega

Declension of terbium (ÕS type 2e/minut, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		terbium	terbiumid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	terbiumi
genitive			terbiumite
partitive		terbiumit	terbiumeid
illative		terbiumisse	terbiumitesse terbiumeisse
inessive		terbiumis	terbiumites terbiumeis
elative		terbiumist	terbiumitest terbiumeist
allative		terbiumile	terbiumitele terbiumeile
adessive		terbiumil	terbiumitel terbiumeil
ablative		terbiumilt	terbiumitelt terbiumeilt
translative		terbiumiks	terbiumiteks terbiumeiks
terminative		terbiumini	terbiumiteni
essive		terbiumina	terbiumitena
abessive		terbiumita	terbiumiteta
comitative		terbiumiga	terbiumitega

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (see English terbium).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈterbium/, [ˈt̪e̞rbium]
• Rhymes: -erbium
• Syllabification^(key): ter‧bi‧um
• Hyphenation^(key): ter‧bi‧um

Noun

terbium

1. terbium

Declension

Inflection of terbium (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		terbium	terbiumit
genitive		terbiumin	terbiumien
partitive		terbiumia	terbiumeja
illative		terbiumiin	terbiumeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		terbium	terbiumit
accusative	nom.	terbium	terbiumit
	gen.	terbiumin
genitive		terbiumin	terbiumien
partitive		terbiumia	terbiumeja
inessive		terbiumissa	terbiumeissa
elative		terbiumista	terbiumeista
illative		terbiumiin	terbiumeihin
adessive		terbiumilla	terbiumeilla
ablative		terbiumilta	terbiumeilta
allative		terbiumille	terbiumeille
essive		terbiumina	terbiumeina
translative		terbiumiksi	terbiumeiksi
abessive		terbiumitta	terbiumeitta
instructive		—	terbiumein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of terbium (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative terbiumini terbiumini accusative nom. terbiumini terbiumini gen. terbiumini genitive terbiumini terbiumieni partitive terbiumiani terbiumejani inessive terbiumissani terbiumeissani elative terbiumistani terbiumeistani illative terbiumiini terbiumeihini adessive terbiumillani terbiumeillani ablative terbiumiltani terbiumeiltani allative terbiumilleni terbiumeilleni essive terbiuminani terbiumeinani translative terbiumikseni terbiumeikseni abessive terbiumittani terbiumeittani instructive — — comitative — terbiumeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative terbiumisi terbiumisi accusative nom. terbiumisi terbiumisi gen. terbiumisi genitive terbiumisi terbiumiesi partitive terbiumiasi terbiumejasi inessive terbiumissasi terbiumeissasi elative terbiumistasi terbiumeistasi illative terbiumiisi terbiumeihisi adessive terbiumillasi terbiumeillasi ablative terbiumiltasi terbiumeiltasi allative terbiumillesi terbiumeillesi essive terbiuminasi terbiumeinasi translative terbiumiksesi terbiumeiksesi abessive terbiumittasi terbiumeittasi instructive — — comitative — terbiumeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative terbiumimme terbiumimme accusative nom. terbiumimme terbiumimme gen. terbiumimme genitive terbiumimme terbiumiemme partitive terbiumiamme terbiumejamme inessive terbiumissamme terbiumeissamme elative terbiumistamme terbiumeistamme illative terbiumiimme terbiumeihimme adessive terbiumillamme terbiumeillamme ablative terbiumiltamme terbiumeiltamme allative terbiumillemme terbiumeillemme essive terbiuminamme terbiumeinamme translative terbiumiksemme terbiumeiksemme abessive terbiumittamme terbiumeittamme instructive — — comitative — terbiumeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative terbiuminne terbiuminne accusative nom. terbiuminne terbiuminne gen. terbiuminne genitive terbiuminne terbiumienne partitive terbiumianne terbiumejanne inessive terbiumissanne terbiumeissanne elative terbiumistanne terbiumeistanne illative terbiumiinne terbiumeihinne adessive terbiumillanne terbiumeillanne ablative terbiumiltanne terbiumeiltanne allative terbiumillenne terbiumeillenne essive terbiuminanne terbiumeinanne translative terbiumiksenne terbiumeiksenne abessive terbiumittanne terbiumeittanne instructive — — comitative — terbiumeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative terbiuminsa terbiuminsa accusative nom. terbiuminsa terbiuminsa gen. terbiuminsa genitive terbiuminsa terbiumiensa partitive terbiumiaan terbiumiansa terbiumejaan terbiumejansa inessive terbiumissaan terbiumissansa terbiumeissaan terbiumeissansa elative terbiumistaan terbiumistansa terbiumeistaan terbiumeistansa illative terbiumiinsa terbiumeihinsa adessive terbiumillaan terbiumillansa terbiumeillaan terbiumeillansa ablative terbiumiltaan terbiumiltansa terbiumeiltaan terbiumeiltansa allative terbiumilleen terbiumillensa terbiumeilleen terbiumeillensa essive terbiuminaan terbiuminansa terbiumeinaan terbiumeinansa translative terbiumikseen terbiumiksensa terbiumeikseen terbiumeiksensa abessive terbiumittaan terbiumittansa terbiumeittaan terbiumeittansa instructive — — comitative — terbiumeineen terbiumeinensa

French

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: dysprosium (Dy) →

Etymology

Borrowed from English yttrium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛʁ.bjɔm/

• Audio (France (Brétigny-sur-Orge)):

  (file)

Noun

terbium m (uncountable)

1. terbium

Related terms

• erbium
• ytterbium
• yttrium

Further reading

• “terbium”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Hungarian

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolínium (Gd)
Next: diszprózium (Dy) →

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɛrbijum]
• Hyphenation: ter‧bi‧um
• Rhymes: -um

Noun

terbium (usually uncountable, plural terbiumok)

1. terbium (chemical element)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	terbium	terbiumok
accusative	terbiumot	terbiumokat
dative	terbiumnak	terbiumoknak
instrumental	terbiummal	terbiumokkal
causal-final	terbiumért	terbiumokért
translative	terbiummá	terbiumokká
terminative	terbiumig	terbiumokig
essive-formal	terbiumként	terbiumokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	terbiumban	terbiumokban
superessive	terbiumon	terbiumokon
adessive	terbiumnál	terbiumoknál
illative	terbiumba	terbiumokba
sublative	terbiumra	terbiumokra
allative	terbiumhoz	terbiumokhoz
elative	terbiumból	terbiumokból
delative	terbiumról	terbiumokról
ablative	terbiumtól	terbiumoktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	terbiumé	terbiumoké
non-attributive possessive – plural	terbiuméi	terbiumokéi

Possessive forms of terbium

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	terbiumom	terbiumaim
2nd person sing.	terbiumod	terbiumaid
3rd person sing.	terbiuma	terbiumai
1st person plural	terbiumunk	terbiumaink
2nd person plural	terbiumotok	terbiumaitok
3rd person plural	terbiumuk	terbiumaik

Related terms

• erbium
• itterbium
• ittrium

Latin

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: dysprosium (Dy) →
Latin Wikipedia article on Terbium

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtɛr.bi.ũː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈtɛr.bi.um]

Noun

terbium n (genitive terbiī); second declension

1. terbium

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	terbium	terbia
genitive	terbiī	terbiōrum
dative	terbiō	terbiīs
accusative	terbium	terbia
ablative	terbiō	terbiīs
vocative	terbium	terbia

Limburgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtæ˨ʁbjɔ˧m]

Noun

terbium n

1. (uncountable) terbium
2. A part of terbium

Malay

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: disprosium (Dy) →

Etymology

From English terbium, from Swedish Ytterby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tə(r)biom], [tə(r)biəm]
• Rhymes: -iom, -jom, -om

Noun

terbium

1. terbium (chemical element)

Slovak

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolínium (Gd)
Next: dysprózium (Dy) →

Etymology

From the Swedish town of Ytterby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛrbium/

Noun

terbium n (genitive singular terbia, declension pattern of mesto)

1. terbium (element)

Declension

Declension of terbium

	singulare tantum
nominative	terbium
genitive	terbia
dative	terbiu
accusative	terbium
locative	terbiu
instrumental	terbiom

Derived terms

• terbiový

Further reading

• “terbium”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Swedish

Chemical element (edit)
Tb Atomic number 65 terbium
Classification data Period 6 Group 3 Block f-block Class lanthanide
Previous: ← gadolinium (Gd)
Next: dysprosium (Dy) →

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛrbɪɵm/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

terbium n

1. terbium

Declension

Declension of terbium

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	terbium	terbiums
	definite	terbiumet	terbiumets
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Declension of terbium

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	terbium	terbiums
	definite	terbiet	terbiets
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Declension of terbium

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	terbium	terbiums
	definite	terbium	terbiums
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

References

• “terbium”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “terbium”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “terbium”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• Svensk MeSH