(Greek: chin, jaw, cheek)

(Latin: mentum, the chin)

(Modern Latin: named for the mythical king Tantalus [who in the Greek myths was tortured by being placed in water up to his chin, which he was never able to drink, whence the word “tantalize”]; because of the element’s insolubility or “to illustrate the tantalizing work he had until he succeeded in isolating this element”; metal)