フッ素

• 弗素

Compound of 弗 (futsu, used phonetically) +‎ 素 (so, “chemical element”). First used by Morisaburō Ichikawa in Rika Nikki (1872).[1] 弗 (futsu) was chosen for the initial fu, used by Udagawa Yōan in Seimi Kaisō (1837-1847) as 弗律阿里涅 (フリュオリネ)[2] from New Latin fluorine (not used today), and by Heijirō Takehara in Kagaku Nyūmon (1867-1870) as 弗律阿𠌃母 (フリュオリウム) from New Latin fluorium. Other sources say it is from English fluorine[3][4] but the Dutch translations predate English ones.

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) フ​ッそ [fúꜜssò] (Atamadaka – [1])[3]
  • IPA^(key): [ɸɯ̟ᵝsːo̞]

フッ素 (hiragana and katakana フッそ, rōmaji fusso)

1. fluorine, F
2. fluorine gas
3. (dentistry, ellipsis) fluoride to prevent cavities such as sodium fluoride.

Commonly written with katakana instead of kanji for the 弗 portion, due to the rarity of the 弗 character.