It's elementary, my dears!

Believe it or not, chemistry was not my best subject in high school. Our paths have yet to cross at university, and that is just fine with me. But I was wondering where the names of the elements came from. 

• Actinium. 1899. From Ancient Greek meaning "beam" or "ray."
• Aluminum. Used in Ancient Greece and Rome. From Latin "bitter salt."
• Americium. 1944. Kept secret until after WWII. Named because it is right below europium in the table.
• Antimony. 3000 BC. (Written formula by 1540.) Comes from Arabic word for "metal." Possibly from French "antimoine," "monk-killer." Alchemists were usually monks and antimony is poisonous.
• Argon. 1894. Greek for "lazy" because it's inactive.
• Arsenic. 1250. From the Syriac "al zarniqa," meaning yellow orpiment (type of mineral).
• Astatine. 1940. In 1931 it was discovered at Auburn and called alabamine for several years, but disputed. Same thing in Bangladesh, Switzerland, and England. All of those guys were close, but it decays so fast you can't really study it. Its name is Greek for "unstable."
• Barium. 1808. Greek for "heavy."
• Berkelium. 1949. Named for Berkeley, CA, where it was discovered.
• Beryllium. 1898. Named for the pale semiprecious stone, beryl.
• Bismuth. 1660s in Europe, also used by Incas. Possibly named for Old German word for "white."
• Bohrium. 1981. Named for physicist Niels Bohr.
• Boron. At latest 300. From Arabic word for borax.
• Bromine. 1825. From Greek word for stench.
• Cadmium. 1817. Named after Cadmus, the mythical founder of Thebes.
• Cesium. 1860. From Latin word for sky blue.
• Calcium. 1st century. From Latin for lime.
• Californium. 1950. Named for state.
• Carbon. Known about forever. Latin for coal.
• Cerium. 1803. Named for dwarf planet Ceres.
• Chlorine. 1774. Greek for pale green.
• Chromium. Used since 3rd century BC. Officially in 1761. Greek for color.
• Cobalt. Circa 1735. Used since Ancient Egypt. German for goblin, from the superstitions of the men who mined it.
• Copernicium. 1996. Named for astronomer Nicolas Copernicus.
• Copper. 9000 BC. Named for Cyprus, where much of it is found.
• Curium. 1944. Secret until after WWII. Named for Marie and Pierre Curie.
• Darmstadtium. 1994. Named for Darmstadt, Germany, where it was discovered.
• Dubnium. 1968. Named for Dubna, Russia, where it was discovered.
• Dysprosium. 1886. Greek for "hard to get."
• Einsteinium. 1952. Named for Albert Einstein. For some reason.
• Erbium. 1843. Named for Ytterby, a village in Switzerland.
• Europium. 1901. Named after Europe.
• Fermium. 1952. Named for Enrico Fermi.
• Fluorine. 1530. From the Latin for "to flow."
• Francium. 1939. Named for France.
• Gadolinium. 1880. Named for chemist Johan Gadolin.
• Gallium. 1875. Named for Latin word for "France," "Gallia." In a geek-pun, its discoverer was Paul Lecoq. "Le coq" means rooster in France. "Gallus" is "rooster" in Latin. Ha ha.
• Germanium. 1886. Named for Germany.
• Gold. 7000 years ago. The Aztec's word for gold is more interesting than ours. It translates literally as (pardon my French) "the shit of the gods."

Well, that's all for tonight! This is part one of three.