 The use of Sb as the standard chemical symbol for antimony is due to <unk> Jakob Berzelius , who used this abbreviation of the name stibium . The medieval Latin form , from which the modern languages and late Byzantine Greek take their names for antimony , is antimonium . The origin of this is uncertain ; all suggestions have some difficulty either of form or interpretation . The popular etymology , from <unk> anti @-@ <unk> or French <unk> , still has adherents ; this would mean " monk @-@ killer " , and is explained by many early <unk> being monks , and antimony being poisonous . 
