Which element is named after the Greek word for 'light-bearing'?

Phosphorus is named after the Greek word for “light-bearing.”

The name comes from the Ancient Greek Phōsphoros, meaning “light-bearer.” In Greek mythology, Phōsphoros was associated with the morning star, the planet Venus. The term was chosen because white phosphorus can emit a faint glow when exposed to oxygen, a striking property that impressed early observers.

German alchemist Hennig Brand isolated phosphorus in 1669 while searching for the philosopher’s stone. He processed urine, which contains phosphate compounds, and obtained a waxy substance that glowed in the dark and burned brilliantly. He called it phosphorus mirabilis, or “miraculous bearer of light.”

Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Its name also appears in “phosphorescence,” although white phosphorus’s glow is technically chemiluminescence caused by oxidation, not phosphorescence in the strict scientific sense. The element is essential to life because phosphate groups are part of DNA, RNA, ATP and phospholipids, and phosphorus compounds are widely used in fertilisers.