Chem. [ad. Gr. ξένον, neut. of ξένος strange.] A heavy inert gaseous element present in minute quantity in the atmosphere, discovered by Sir William Ramsay in 1898. Symbol Xe or X.
1898. Ramsay & Travers, in Rep. Brit. Assoc. Bristol, 830. The last fractions of liquefied argon show the presence of three new gases. These are krypton … metargon … and a still heavier gas,… which we propose to name ‘xenon.’
