Potassium.
Potassium is kalium in Latin.
The original word for potassium in Latin is kalium. That is where you get K for the element , Potassium.
Potassium's chemical symbol K comes from the Latin word kalium.
First of all it is NOT 'patassium' , but 'Potassium;'. The chemical symbol 'K' for potassium is from Latin, and means 'Kalium'.# Similarly, Sodium ( Na ; Nadium).
The element sodium comes from the Latin word "natrium."
Sodiums chemical symbol is 'Na'. 'Na' is the initials of the Latin word for sodium, which is ' NADIUM'. Similarly, Potassium (K) is from Latin for 'KALIUM'.
Latin, Greek and proper noun derivatives
It is only a convention.
Silver. Incidentally, gold is Au. Both, I believe, come from the Latin roots of the word gold in Latin: "aurum"
The word alkali come from the language Arabic
The word "alkali" comes from the Arabic word "al-qalīy" which means "the calcined ashes." It was used to describe compounds that had a basic pH and derived from ashes, such as potash.
Most atomic symbols are based on the latin name of the element. Latin was a common language of science for hundreds of years, and the symbols remained, though each language has their own name for the elements.