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Named for Color
Chromium takes its name from the Greek word for color, for the vivid hues of its compounds. A look at what chromium is — element twenty-four on the periodic table — where it sits, how it was named, and the forms it takes.
Its name comes from the Greek word for color — chrōma — for the vivid hues of the compounds it forms.
Chromium is a chemical element, number twenty-four on the periodic table: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal. What follows is the story of the element and its name — what it is, where it sits, and the forms it takes.
An element, named for color
Chromium is a chemical element — number twenty-four on the periodic table, a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal. Its name is a clue to the thing that first drew attention to it: "chromium" comes from the Greek chrōma, meaning color, because the compounds it forms are so vividly colored.
It was identified at the close of the eighteenth century, drawn from a bright orange-red mineral. The metal itself is plain and steely; it is the compounds around it that carry the reds, greens, and yellows that gave the element its name.
This piece follows the element and its name — what chromium is, where it sits on the table, and the forms it takes — set within the wider study of how the body sustains itself across time.
The element
A hard, silver-gray metal
The metal itself is plain and steely — lustrous, hard, and gray — for all the color its compounds are named for.
The element
Chromium, in brief
A few of the plain facts about the element and its name.
The Name
"Chromium" comes from the Greek chrōma — color — for the vivid hues of its compounds.
Number 24
It is element twenty-four, with the symbol Cr, among the transition metals of the periodic table.
A Steely Metal
In its pure form it is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal, known for taking a bright polish.
Related Forms
In the diet it appears as trivalent chromium, in forms such as chromium picolinate and chromium chloride.
The forms
One element, several forms
Beyond the pure metal, chromium appears in a handful of chemical forms, each a different pairing of the same element.
The forms it takes
Chromium, and its forms
A few of the forms the element takes — described by their chemistry, not their use.
Chromium Metal
- Chemistry
- The pure element, symbol Cr, number 24
- Form
- A hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal
- Noted for
- Taking a bright, mirror-like polish.
Trivalent Chromium
- Chemistry
- Chromium in its +3 oxidation state
- Form
- The form found in foods and in the diet
- Noted for
- The state most discussed in nutrition.
Chromium Picolinate
- Chemistry
- Trivalent chromium bound to picolinic acid
- Form
- A compound often seen in the literature
- Noted for
- One of the most examined chromium forms.
Chromium Chloride
- Chemistry
- Trivalent chromium paired with chlorine
- Form
- A simple salt of the element
- Noted for
- One of the family of chromium forms.
The element
A single element
Beneath the name and its forms sits one element — steely and gray, and named for the colors it makes.
Up close
The element, in detail
Chromium as the pure element — steely, lustrous, gray.
Chrōma — the Greek for color, for its vivid compounds.
The compounds and salts built on the same element.
The element, one by one
Chromium, one by one
The plain facts about the element and its name, from root to related forms:
In the literature
A much-studied element
Chromium — the element named from the Greek for color, its place among the transition metals, and its trivalent forms — has been examined widely across the scientific literature. The discussion is broad and ongoing, and much of it remains open rather than settled.
This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only and has been reviewed against FDA and FTC guidelines to ensure it does not make any health, disease, or treatment claim. Any research or studies referenced were conducted independently and did not involve Codeage products; no Codeage product has been used in any study or to establish, prove, or imply any benefit. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Codeage products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The name
An element, and its name
Chromium is, in the end, a chemical element with a telling name — chrōma, the Greek for color, marking the vivid compounds that first drew the eye. It is one element among many found in the living world and in food, described here by its chemistry and its history alone.
A steely element that makes bright compounds — chrōma, the Greek beneath the name.
In closing
Named for color
Read back to its root, chromium is an element that wears its origin in its name — chrōma, the Greek for color, for the vivid reds and greens and yellows of its compounds. It is element twenty-four, a hard silver-gray transition metal, appearing in the diet as trivalent chromium and in a family of related forms.
None of it is a secret, and none of it is a promise. It is simply what the element is, and where its name comes from — one entry on the periodic table set within the wider story of how the body sustains itself across time.
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