Definition of "molybdenum"

The metals at preſent amount to 21 ; only 11 of which were known before the year 1730. Their names are gold, ſilver, platinum, mercury, copper, iron, tin, lead, zinc, antimony, biſmuth, arſenic, cobalt, nickel, manganeſe, tungſten, molybdenum, uranium, tellurium, titanium, chromum.

1803, “Of Metals”, in George Gleig, editor, Supplement to the Third Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, 2nd edition, volume I, page 225

Technical terms like ferrite, perlite, graphite, and hardenite were bandied to and fro, and when Paget glibly brought out such a rare exotic as ferro-molybdenum, Benson forgot that he was a master ship-builder, […]

1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 4, in Well Tackled!‎

At pH levels below 5, wheat yields may be low, molybdenum may become unavailable to plants, and other trace elements may be concentrated to toxic levels.

1990, Arthur J. Conacher, “Salt of the Earth”, in Environment‎, volume 32, number 6, page 40

Thus in M4O11, for example, ¾ of the molybdenums are octahedrally connected and ¼ are tetrahedrally coordinated and, furthermore, the formula is compatible with the existence of one Mo(IV) for every three Mo(VI), so at first glance the compound might appear to be a class I mixed valence system.

2007, Peter Day, Molecules into Materials: Case Studies in Materials Chemistry—Mixed Valency, Magnetism and Superconductivity, page 233