Which element's name comes from the Greek for 'yellow-green'?
Answer
Chlorine
Answer
Chlorine
Which element’s name comes from the Greek for “yellow-green”? Chlorine. The name comes from the Greek word khlōros, meaning “pale green” or “yellow-green,” a reference to chlorine gas’s distinctive color. Chlorine is a highly reactive halogen and normally exists as a diatomic molecule, Cl₂, rather than as isolated chlorine atoms.
English chemist Humphry Davy established chlorine as an element in 1810. Earlier, chemists had produced the gas but mistakenly treated it as a compound containing oxygen. Davy recognized that it was a previously unknown element and gave it the name chlorine based on its appearance.
Chlorine’s color and chemical behavior are easy to confuse with other halogens. Bromine is a reddish-brown liquid, iodine produces violet vapor, and fluorine is a very pale yellow gas. Chlorine compounds are widespread: sodium chloride is ordinary table salt, while carefully controlled chlorine compounds are used to disinfect drinking water and swimming pools. Concentrated chlorine gas, however, is toxic and irritating.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026