alloy

en-noun

alloy (countable and uncountable, plural alloys)

From Anglo-Norman alai, from Old French aloi, from aloiier, from Latin alligō.

A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, a base metal.


bronze

bronze (countable and uncountable, plural bronzes)

From French bronze (1511), from Italian bronzo (13th cent.), of uncertain origin; see it for more. First use appears c. 1721 in the writings of Matthew Prior. See cite below.

unc

uncertain

She wanted to win the tournament, but had to settle for the bronze after being beaten in the semi-finals.


brass

en-noun

brass (usually uncountable, plural brasses)

From Middle English bras, bres, from Old English bræs (“brass, bronze”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps representing a backformation from Proto-Germanic *brasnaz (“brazen”), from or related to *brasō (“fire, pyre”). Compare Old Norse and Icelandic bras (“solder”), Icelandic brasa (“to harden in the fire”), Swedish brasa (“a small controlled fire”), Danish brase (“to fry”); French braser ("to solder"; > English braise) from the same Germanic root. Compare also Middle Dutch braspenninc ("a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch braspenning), Old Frisian bress (“copper”), Middle Low German bras (“metal, ore”).
In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats.

unc

uncertain

gloss

"to solder"; > English <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">braise</i>

"a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">braspenning</i>

духов

related to brass instruments (attributive use)

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

(countable, uncountable) A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.

A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten.

Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass.

Coordinate term: bronze


brass

en-adj

brass (comparative more brass, superlative most brass)

more brass (comparative)
most brass (superlative)

unc

uncertain

At the Council board, I hope to charge him with that he cannot answer, and yet I know his face is brass enough.

1869, John Bruce, editor, Calendar of State Papers, domestic series, of the reign of Charles I, 1637-1638, page 147:

[...] he continued in the same insulting strain. "If you were not quite brass, you would know it is not proper to be making promises you dare not tell of."

1872, Elsie Leigh Whittlesey, Helen Ethinger: or, Not Exactly Right, page 154:

It was a show of very large and very brass cojones, [...]

2011, Paul Christopher, The Templar Conspiracy:

Maybe (probably so), but it's rare someone is brass enough to post a msg for all to see asking for a software key, that the vast majority have paid for in support of the development effort.

1996 May 24, 2:00 am, Sherman Simpson, Want license key for AGENT FOR WINDOWS95, alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent

After cornering the dutch auction, the seller was brass enough to send him the whole lot without one.

2000 Aug 18, 2:00 am, David Ryan, strangest bid retraction /illegal lottery NOT, rec.collecting.coins

Try to keep in mind that not all of his converts are brass enough to challenge the benzo pushers in this group, …

2000 Aug 19, 3:00 am, n4mwd, for RMB, alt.support.anxiety-panic


amalgam

en-noun

amalgam (countable and uncountable, plural amalgams)

From Medieval Latin amalgama (“mercury alloy”), from Arabic اَلْمَلْغَم (al-malḡam, “emollient poultice or unguent for sores”), from Ancient Greek μάλαγμα (málagma, “emollient; malleable material”), from μαλάσσω (malássō, “to soften”), from μαλακός (malakós, “soft”). Doublet of malagma. For the verb, compare French amalgamer.

der

(metallurgy) An alloy containing mercury.

(dentistry) An alloy of mercury used to fill tooth cavities.


steel

en-noun

steel (countable and uncountable, plural steels)

From Middle English stele, stel, from Old English stīele, from Proto-West Germanic *stahlī (“something made of steel”), enlargement of *stahl (“steel”), from Proto-Germanic *stahlą, from *stah- or *stag- (“to be firm, rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European *stak- (“to stay, to be firm”). Compare Scots stele, Yola stehli.

der

For heom ne may halter ne bridel Bringe from here wode wyse, Ne mon mid stele ne mid ire.

c. 1250, The Owl & the Nightengale, published 1030:

For braue Macbeth (well hee deſerues that Name)
Diſdayning Fortune, with his brandiſht Steele,
Which ſmoak'd with bloody execution
(Like Valours Minion) caru'd out his paſſage.

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], line 35:

But who wou'd dream that out of abundant Charity and Brotherly Love shou'd come Steel, Fire, Gibbets, Rods.

1712, Lord Shaftesbury, Characteristicks, III 115:

They have asked for the steel. They shall have it now; Out cutlasses and board!

1892, Rudyard Kipling, Barrack-room Ballads, section 139:

While one man was beating off the swords, the waters stole up silently and took him. Contrariwise, another was struggling with the waves, when the steel came up and encompassed him. The flowing waters were befouled with the gory spray. Thus the Ruthenians were conquered...

1905, Saxo Grammaticus, translated by Oliver Elton, The Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus, section II:

(countable) Any item made of this metal, particularly including:

Bladed or pointed weapons, as swords, javelins, daggers.

Of ston mid stel in ðe tunder wel to brennen one ðis wunder.

The Cock falling with its wonted violence upon the Steel.

1660, Robert Boyle, New Experiments Physico-mechanicall, XIV 89:

A piece used for striking sparks from flint.

Þai gun hem boþe armi In iren and stiel þat tide.

In compleate steele.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 33:

She that has [chastity], is clad in compleat steel.

1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC, page 421:

The steill to scherp the schawing jrne.

1541 in 1844, J. Stuart, Extracts of the Council Register of Aberdeen, I 176

When he came to Nottingham, he entered that part of the market where butchers stood, and took up his inn in the best place he could find. Next, he opened his stall and spread his meat upon the bench, then, taking his cleaver and steel and clattering them together, he trolled aloud in merry tones...

1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC:

A honing steel, a tool used to sharpen or hone metal blades.

I haue a ruffe is a quarter deep, measured by the yeard... You haue a pretty set too, how big is the steele you set with?

1608, G. Markham et al., Dumbe Knight, section I:

I suppose the bullet must have struck the steels in my corsets.

(sewing) Pieces used to strengthen, support, or expand an item of clothing.

One of them having occasion to use a Steele, smoothing Iron, or some such kinde of Laundry Instrument.

1638, J. Taylor, Bull, Beare, & Horse, C5:

The threaded steel...Flies swiftly.

(sewing, dialectal) A sewing needle; a knitting needle; a sharp metal stylus.

1843, J. Ballantine, The gaberlunzie's wallet. With numerous illustrations on steel and wood.:

A re-issue of the Examples of the Architecture of Venice. By John Ruskin... With the Text, and the 16 Plates (10 Steels and 6 Lithographs) as originally published.

The crews at the port batteries were pumping steel at the enemy.

A trailing skirt embroidered in what is termed fine steel.

(sewing) A fringe of beads or decoration of this metal.

(music, guitar) A type of slide used while playing the steel guitar.


steel

Strained in stel ger on steedes of might.

The tyrant custome...Hath made the flinty and steele Cooch of warre, My thrice driuen bed of downe.

c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], line 229:

I will grasp the mountain-hedgehog, prickles and all, with my steel-gauntlet.

1829 May 2, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Anne of Geierstein; or, The Maiden of the Mist. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Company] for Cadell and Co., […]; London: Simpkin and Marshall, […], →OCLC, page 78:

King Peter attributed his father's, King Alexander's, death to the fact that...he had not worn his steel-mesh bullet-proof shirt.

1976, J. Wheeler-Bennett, Friends, Enemies, & Sovereigns, V, 156:


steel

en-verb

steel (third-person singular simple present steels, present participle steeling, simple past and past participle steeled)

steels (present singular third-person)
steeling (participle present)
steeled (participle past)
steeled (past)

My large dry-point,...called Two Stumps of Driftwood, gave 1000 copies (after being steeled) without perceptible wearing.

1880, P. G. Hamerton, Etching & Etchers, 3rd edition, section 342:

(literally) To treat or furnish with or transform into steel.

To electroplate an item (particularly an engraving plate) with a layer of iron.


Cerrobend

A eutectic alloy of bismuth, lead, tin, and cadmium which has a low melting point.


stainless steel

en-noun

stainless steel (countable and uncountable, plural stainless steels)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-stainless steel.wav

An alloy of iron and chromium that resists corrosion.


wrought iron

Wrought iron is essentially iron that has been worked so that its carbon content is radically reduced. For the purposes of rail bridge-building in the 19th century, this proved revolutionary, and highly advantageous over the dangerously brittle properties of cast iron.

2021 March 24, Dr. Joseph Brennan, “Metallic marvels from rail's Iron Age”, in RAIL, number 927, page 57:

A tough, malleable, ductile form of iron that is forged rather than cast, suitable for welding.


cast iron

cast iron (countable and uncountable, plural cast irons)

Derived from the casting of this form of iron. See wrought iron for comparison.

Cast iron is popular for cookware where an even heating temperature is important.

A hard and brittle, but strong, alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon, formed by casting in a mould.

չուգուն

hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon


solder

solder (countable and uncountable, plural solders)

From Middle English souder, soudere, soudur (noun), from Old French soldure, soudeure (noun), from Old French souder, solder (“to solder”, verb) (> Middle English souden (“to solder”)), from Latin solidāre (“make solid”).

...the packaging of electronic components has moved from technology that used solder predominantly as an electrical connection (plated through-hole) to technology that uses solder as both a mechanical and electrical connection (surface mount technology)...

1991, John H. Lau, Solder Joint Reliability: Theory and Applications, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 225:

I've had so little feeling that I've burned myself with liquid solder and watched my skin burn and not felt anything.

1991 December 8, Liz Galst, quoting Buck, “Gay Male Incest Survivors, Safer Sex, and AIDS”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 21, page 9:

Any of various easily-melted alloys, commonly of tin and lead, that are used to mend, coat, or join metal objects, usually small.

զոդ

any of various alloys that are used to join small pieces of metal together


electrum

electrum (countable and uncountable, plural electrums)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-electrum.wav

From Latin electrum, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron).


mat

(coppersmithing) An alloy of copper, tin, iron, etc.; white metal.


brazen

en-adj

brazen (comparative more brazen, superlative most brazen)

more brazen (comparative)
most brazen (superlative)

From Middle English brasen, from Old English bræsen (“brazen, of brass”); equivalent to brass + -en (compare golden, wooden, etc.).
The word originally meant “of brass”; the figurative verb sense (as in brazen it out (“face impudently”)) dates from the 1550s (perhaps evoking the sense “face like brass, unmoving and not showing shame”), and the adjective sense “impudent” from the 1570s. Compare bold as brass.

Brazen or rather copper swords seem to have been next introduced; these in process of time, workmen learned to harden by the addition of some other metal or mineral, which rendered them almost equal in temper to iron.

1786, Francis Grose, Military Antiquities Respecting a History of the English Army, from the Conquest to the Present Time, London: Printed for S. Hooper […], OCLC 745209064; republished as Military Antiquities Respecting a History of the English Army, from the Conquest to the Present Time, volume II, new [2nd] edition with material additions and improvements, London: Printed for T[homas] Egerton, […]; & G. Kearsley, […], 1801, OCLC 435979550, page 262

And Moses made a brass image of the fiery serpents, and put it up on a pole, where all the people could see it; and when any one was bitten, he could look upon the brazen serpent, and was cured.

1836, [Harvey Newcomb], The Brazen Serpent: Being a Simple Illustration of Faith Drawn from Scripture History. […], Philadelphia, Pa.: American Sunday-School Union, […], →OCLC, pages 40–41:

меден

pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass


eureka

From Ancient Greek εὕρηκα (heúrēka, “I have found”), perfect active indicative first singular of εὑρίσκω (heurískō, “to find”). Archimedes supposedly exclaimed this when he figured out how to determine the density of an object. First use appears c. 1603 in a text by Philemon Holland.

der

Synonym of constantan (“copper-nickel alloy”)


gunmetal

en-noun

gunmetal (countable and uncountable, plural gunmetals)

The pump [of the steam fire-engine], being at the forward end, was made of gun metal and was double acting, having eight brass suction-valves, four on each side, and four discharge valves, opening into the air vessels, to which a double discharge valve, having one opening on the inside and two on the outside, was attached for the purpose of using two lines of hose.

1896, William T. King, “John A. Ives & Brother – 1864”, in History of the American Steam Fire-engine, [Boston, Mass.]: [Pinkham Press], →OCLC; reprinted Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 2001, →ISBN, page 92:

It is three tiers high inside the prison and everything is the color of gunmetal. Everything is dark and cold, except for those patches of light, where authority stands.

1956, James Baldwin, chapter 3, in Giovanni’s Room, New York, N.Y.: Dial Press, →OCLC, page 149; reprinted New York, N.Y.: Dell, 1988, →ISBN:

Gunmetals are alloys of copper, tin and zinc, formerly used for casting cannon. With lead additions they become suitable as bearing materials and are called leaded gunmetals (the US term is leaded red brass); they are quite often misnamed bronzes.

1984, D[onald] A. Wight, “Materials”, in C[hristopher] T. Wilbur and D. A. Wight, Pounder’s Marine Diesel Engines, 6th edition, London: Butterworths, reprinted 1986, page 593

Of his addictive behavior, he [Robert Downey Jr.] told a judge, "It's like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I've got my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal."

2015, Dan Casey, “Robert Downey Jr.”, in 100 Things Avengers Fans should Know & Do before They Die, Chicago, Ill.: Triumph Books, →ISBN, page 95:

An alloy of 88% copper, 10% tin and 2% zinc, originally used for making guns.


Britannia metal

An alloy of tin with copper and antimony, somewhat like pewter.


Raney nickel

Raney nickel (countable and uncountable, plural Raney nickels)

It was developed in 1926 by American engineer Murray Raney.

A finely divided nickel-aluminum alloy that has been treated with NaOH to dissolve out most of the aluminum.


Britannia silver

An alloy of more than 95.84% silver, and up to 4.16% copper; in use for coin from 1697 to 1720, it was withdrawn because it was too soft.


pyrophoric alloy

pyrophoric alloy (plural pyrophoric alloys)

An alloy, especially one of iron or cerium, that emits sparks when scratched or struck.


pewter

pewter (countable and uncountable, plural pewters)

→ Welsh: piwter

From Middle English peutre, from Old French peautre, from Vulgar Latin *peltrum (“pewter”), which is of uncertain origin. Possibly related to spelter.

An alloy of approximately 93–98% tin and 1–2% copper, and the balance of antimony.


CPA

CPA (countable and uncountable, plural CPAs)

(chemistry) Initialism of copolymer alloy.


ferroalloy

Any alloy of iron and another metal, especially one of silicon, manganese, chromium, vanadium, tungsten, titanium and molybdenum; used in the production of specialist steels as they have a lower melting point than the pure metal.


Dutch metal

A form of brass, being an alloy of about 80% copper and 20% zinc, produced in thin sheets and used to make inexpensive jewelry.


mu-metal

From mu + metal; the Greek letter mu (μ) is a symbol for permeability.

magnetic permeability
magnetic permeability

An alloy with high magnetic permeability, consisting of nickel (77%) and iron (15%) with traces of copper and molybdenum.


Babbitt metal

Babbitt metal (countable and uncountable, plural Babbitt metals)

Alternative letter-case form of babbitt metal


babbitt

babbitt (countable and uncountable, plural babbitts)

The noun is derived from Babbitt, the surname of the American inventor Isaac Babbitt (1799–1862) who invented the alloy.
The verb is derived from the noun.

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-babbitt.wav

Running while low on oil had galled the babbitt.

Figure 2 represents a top plan of the "Babbitting" jig, placed in or upon a cast-iron frame, preparatory to the pouring or casting of the "Babbitt" or other soft metal on to or around its journals, to form journal bearings in said cast-iron frame.

1867 October 29, John Underwood, Improved Babbitting and Drilling Jig, US Patent 0070294 (PDF version), page 1:

Remove all sharp edges from the babbitt with a chisel or file and try the shaft after removing the paper wrapping for a fit. If a light coat of oil mixed with lampblack be smeared on the shaft and the shaft revolved, the lampblack will catch on the high points of the babbitt, then by removing the shaft and scraping off these high spots a good bearing can be produced.

1919 March, “Babbitting Bearings”, in Care and Repair of Farm Implements. No. 5.—Grain Separators (U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin; 1036), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, published 1920, →OCLC, page 14:

Coins made from nickel babbitt are fairly hard and give a clear bright ring. This makes it easier to pass them due to the widespread belief that a sure test of a counterfeit coin is to drop it on a hard surface to see if it will "ring". […] The simplest test is to cut the edge of a suspected coin with a pocket knife. If it is made of babbitt the metal will pare off quite easily.

1952, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, “Counterfeiting”, in Law and Order in Canadian Democracy: Crime and Police Work in Canada, revised edition, Ottawa: Edmond Cloutier, […], →OCLC, page 209:

The cross-head is cast of crucible steel and faced with Babbitt. […] The rod is secured to the crank pin by body bound bolts, this bearing being provided with Babbitt shells which are prevented from turning by paper liners extending to the pin.

1895 June, “The Fisher Self-oiling Engine”, in Power, volume XV, number 6, New York, N.Y., Chicago, Ill.: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10, column 2:

Perhaps the most familiar soft bearing alloys are the babbitts. These have been in use since the early 19th century when printer's type metal was utilized for machinery by casting it into holes drilled in iron housings. […] Babbitt or whitemetal bearing materials represent a class of alloys developed specifically for bearing applications.

1992, William A. Glaeser, “Soft Metal Bearing Materials”, in Materials for Tribology (Tribology Series; 20), Amsterdam, London: Elsevier Science Publishers, →ISBN, page 72:

In most applications, the inner bearing surface is made of a thin layer of a soft white metal (babbitt), which has a low melting temperature.

2003, Avraham Harnoy, “Design Charts for Finite-length Journal Bearings”, in Bearing Design in Machinery: Engineering Tribology and Lubrication, New York, N.Y., Basel: Marcel Dekker, →ISBN, page 164:

Babbitts may be lead-based (as 75%Pb, 15%Sb, 10%Sn) or tin-based (as 89%Pb, 3%Cu). They use lead or tin as a soft matrix metal and hard particles of Sb-Sn or Cu-Sn to resist wear. Because of their softness, babbitts are unrivalled in conformability and embeddability. […] Because of low strength and high cost, a thin babbitt overlay, usually about 0.025 mm, is often deposited as liners over steel bushings to combine the great load carrying capacity of steel with conformability and corrosion resistan[ce] of babbitts.

2019, Wei Jiang, “Sliding Bearings”, in Analysis and Design of Machine Elements, Singapore: John Wiley & Sons Singapore, →ISBN, page 350:

Ellipsis of babbitt metal, Babbitt metal (“a soft white alloy of variable composition (for example, nine parts of tin to one of copper, or fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction”).

бабіт

soft white alloy of variable composition — see also babbitt metal


Nichrome

An alloy of nickel and chromium, typically 80% nickel and 20% chromium, used to make heating elements.


beryllide

intermetallic compound
intermetallic compound

(inorganic chemistry) Any intermetallic compound of beryllium with another metal; present in some alloys.

berillid

any intermetallic compound of beryllium with another metal


carbon steel

carbon steel (countable and uncountable, plural carbon steels)

All springs for the engine and tender are of the laminated type with plates of carbon steel, which are secured in the spring buckles by a vertical centre rivet.

1951 March, “British Railways Standard "Britannia" Class 4-6-2 Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 186:

Any of a range of alloys of iron and carbon whose properties depend on the proportion of carbon.


crucible steel

crucible steel (usually uncountable, plural crucible steels)

A high-grade steel, used in tools and dies, originally made by fusing wrought iron and charcoal in a crucible.


magnalium

magnalium (countable and uncountable, plural magnaliums)

The hanging man's face was partly covered by a hinged mask of magnalium, connected to the oven by gutta-percha hoses.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 686:

An alloy of 75% aluminium with about 25% magnesium.


duralumin

duralumin (countable and uncountable, plural duralumins)

Each Talgo unit for R.E.N.F.E. consists of five sections, the bodies of which are made of duralumin and are carried on two resilient wheels, running in roller bearings and situated under the rear end of each section.

1962 September, P. Ransome-Wallis, “The Talgo trains of Spain”, in Modern Railways, page 177:

(metallurgy) An alloy of over 90% aluminium, 4% copper and traces of manganese, magnesium, iron and silicon, widely used in the aircraft industry.


silicon steel

silicon steel (countable and uncountable, plural silicon steels)

An alloy of iron and silicon that has important magnetic properties.


silicon germanium

(inorganic chemistry) An alloy of silicon and germanium used as a semiconductor.


arsenical bronze

arsenical bronze (countable and uncountable, plural arsenical bronzes)

Oetzi the Iceman's axe was of arsenical bronze.

A natural and artificial alloy of copper containing a small amount of arsenic, that oxidates less than pure copper and was widely used during the chalcolithic period.


shape memory alloy

shape memory alloy (plural shape memory alloys)

Any of a group of metallic materials that can return to a previously defined shape, after being deformed, by being heated.


German silver

German silver (usually uncountable, plural German silvers)

From its appearance and its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese alloy known as paktong.

Mr. Briggs recommended plated medals, on German silver, as the best.

1841, John Yonge Akerman, editor, The Numismatic Chronicle, Volume IV: April 1841—January 1842, page 175:

German silver consists essentially of copper, zinc, and nickel. Various metals have been introduced under fanciful names, such as Brazilian and Nevada silver, Argentan, Potosi silver, silveroid, silvene, arguzoid, etc., but these consist of German silver with perhaps slight additions, as, for instance, of iron, manganese, lead, tin, silver, cobalt, and magnesium. German silver is noted for its whiteness, lustre, brilliance, tenacity, and toughness, and its power of resisting chemical influences.

1907, [D. McKay], Paul N. Hasluck, Metalworking: Old-fashioned Tools, Materials, and Processes for the Handyman, Skyhorse Publishing, published 2011, page 8:

Of these, unquestionably, the most popular are the German silvers, i.e., the alloys of nickel, copper, and zinc.

1922, Metal Industry, volume 21, page 129:

German silvers are also used in ornamental hardware, costume jewelry, valves, rivets, springs, and plumbing fixtures. A typical German silver contains about 66% copper, 17% nickel, and 17% zinc.

1998, The Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, Volume 1, page 582:

Between 1865 and 1880, the supply of German silver increased greatly, leading to an abundance of items manufactured from it and a decline in its value as a rare commodity. Southern Plains metalsmiths produced horse gear, pectorals and crosses, earrings, finger rings, other jewelry, and decorative objects with German silver.

1999, Daniel C. Swan, Peyote Religious Art: Symbols of Faith and Belief, University Press of Mississippi, page 63:

Cupronickel, nickel silver; specifically the variety developed by 19th-century German metalworkers, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc.


sterling silver

An alloy containing not less than 92.5 percent silver, the remainder usually being copper.


steelworks

A place where steel is manufactured and/or shaped.


manganotitanium

An alloy of manganese and titanium made by reduction of a mixture of rutile and manganese


ferrovanadium

An alloy of iron and up to 55% vanadium; used in the manufacture of specialist steel


ferrocerium

A pyrophoric alloy of iron and cerium that is used to make the flints for cigarette lighters


steelyard

From steel + yard (“enclosed area, rod”).
The sense of “place” is a calque of Dutch staalhof or Middle Low German Stalhof (Modern Dutch staal (“steel”) + hof (“court, yard”)).
The sense of “balance” is presumably from the sense of “place”, originally “steelyard beam”, mixed with additional sense of “rod” (hence “rod for weighing steel”), replacing earlier Latin statera.

A place where steel (and possibly other metals as well) is stored and sold.


potin

potin (countable and uncountable, plural potins)

(obsolete) An alloy of copper, zinc, lead, and tin.


latten

latten (countable and uncountable, plural lattens)

From Middle English laten, latun, latoun, from Old French laton, laiton, from Arabic لَاطُون (lāṭūn, “copper, copper alloy”), itself from Common Turkic *altun (“gold”). See Turkish altın, Old Turkic 𐰞𐱃𐰆𐰣 (altun, “gold”), Karakhanid اَلْتُونْ (altūn, “gold”).

der

(archaic or historical) An alloy of copper and tin, similar to bronze, with a sufficient portion of tin to make it a pewter-like color with yellowish tinge (rather than the brownish-gold color of bronze of higher copper content), once used in thin sheets and for domestic utensils and light-duty tools.


steel wool

en-noun

steel wool (countable and uncountable, plural steel wools)

Don’t use the steel wool on this pan; you’ll strip off the Teflon coating.

Fine strips or threads of steel, usually formed into pads or balls and used as an abrasive.


cupronickel

cupronickel (countable and uncountable, plural cupronickels)

From cupro- + nickel, likely a calque of German Kupfernickel. Piecewise doublet of copper-nickel and kupfernickel.

piecewise doublet

An alloy of copper containing from 10 to 40% nickel.


mischmetal

en-noun

mischmetal (countable and uncountable, plural mischmetals)

An alloy of rare earth elements containing about 50% cerium and 50% lanthanum, neodymium, and similar elements used especially as a flint in cigarette lighters


green gold

An alloy of gold and silver, used in some jewellery, and having a greenish-yellow color.


niello

niello (countable and uncountable, plural niellos or nielli)

Borrowed from Italian niello, from Latin nigellus (“blackish”).

a young woman named Renata, with a gesturing of her dark curls, beckoned him in with a cigarette-case of Russian silver and niello, which sprang open to reveal a collection of “smokes” […]

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 283:

(metallurgy) Any of various black metal alloys, made of sulphur with copper, silver or lead, used to create decorative designs on other metals.


alnico

alnico (countable and uncountable, plural alnicos)

From the chemical symbols Al, Ni and Co.

An alloy of aluminium, nickel and cobalt, sometimes alloyed with smaller amounts of iron, copper, titanium and used primarily in the manufacture of magnets.


rose gold

rose gold (countable and uncountable, plural rose golds)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-rose gold.wav

A gold-copper alloy used in jewelry for its reddish color.


white gold

white gold (countable and uncountable, plural white golds)

It’s a slender band of white gold. It’ll be rather lovely once it fades.

2022, Hernan Diaz, Trust, Picador (2023), page 371:

(countable) Any precious metal alloy consisting of gold and a platinum group metal such as platinum or palladium or other white metal such as nickel.

бяло злато

any precious metal alloy consisting of gold and a platinum group metal


invar

invar (countable and uncountable, plural invars)

An alloy of iron containing 35.5% nickel, and having a very low coefficient of expansion.


billon

billon (countable and uncountable, plural billons)

Borrowed from French billon, from Old French bille (“stick of wood”).

Any of several alloys of precious metals and base metals that are used (where legal) to make coins, medals etc.


ferromanganese

An alloy, of iron and manganese, used in the manufacture of steel


vanadium steel

vanadium steel (countable and uncountable, plural vanadium steels)

Any of a range of alloys of vanadium and steel having improved strength and high-temperature stability


radiometal

Any of several alloys, mostly of nickel and iron, that have a high magnetic permeability


sidero-

From Ancient Greek σίδηρος (sídēros, “iron”).

Related to iron or steel, as in siderosis (fibrosis caused by iron deposits)


orichalcum

/ɒɹɪˈkælkəm/

Learned borrowing from Latin orichalcum, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀρείχαλκος (oreíkhalkos), from dative singular of ὄρος (óros, “mountain”) + χαλκός (khalkós, “copper”).

Many walls were coated with metals – with brass, tin and a red ^([sic]) metal, unknown to us, called orichalcum.

2008, Jonathan Black, A Secret History of the World, Quercus, published 2008, page 162:

A valuable yellow metal known to the Ancient Greeks and Romans; now sometimes interpreted as referring to a natural alloy of gold and copper, and sometimes treated as a mythical substance.


zircaloy

(metallurgy, nuclear industry) Any of a set of specialist alloys of zirconium


Nibral

Nibral (usually uncountable, plural Nibrals)

A metal alloy made of nickel, bronze and aluminium, often used for underwater parts of ships and boats, such as propellors, stabilizers, and foils.


tombak

From Dutch, from Malay tembaga (“copper”), from Sanskrit ताम्र (tāmra). Entered Dutch usage during colonial period. Doublet of tumbaga.

A brass alloy also known as red-bronze. Term used where zinc content is below 28%. Usually consists of 84-90 % copper and 16-10% zinc, sometimes including arsenic to mimic gold.


ferrochrome

ferrochrome (countable and uncountable, plural ferrochromes)

/ˈfɛɹəˌkɹəʊm/

The capital raising has been forced by plummeting ferrochrome prices which slumped after Chinese mills cut 55 per cent from the price of the alloy used to make stainless steel.

2009 January 30, Liliana Molina, “Big-debt miners turn to markets”, in Herald Sun, archived from the original on 2009-02-01:

A corrosion-resistant alloy of chrome and iron containing between 50% and 65% chrome.


steelmaking

The principal raw material in steelmaking is iron ore.

1963 June, B. Perren, “Colvilles iron ore traffic in the Glasgow area”, in Modern Railways, page 409:

Iron ore producers are facing the first price fall for annual contracts in seven years as demand weakens for steelmaking inputs.

2009 February 4, Ben Sharples, “Rebound is close: Forrest”, in Herald Sun, archived from the original on 2009-02-05:


type metal

type metal (countable and uncountable, plural type metals)

A metal alloy used in making types for traditional typefounding and mechanical typesetting. It consists essentially of lead and antimony, often with a little tin, nickel, or copper.

liteřina

a metal alloy that is used in traditional typefounding and mechanical typesetting


austenite

After William Chandler Roberts-Austen (1843-1902).

A solid solution of carbon or ferric carbide in iron that exists in steel at high temperatures.


cementite

cementite (countable and uncountable, plural cementites)

(inorganic chemistry) A form of iron carbide, Fe₃C, that is a component of steel.


siderurgy

From sidero- + -urgy, after Ancient Greek σιδηρουργός (sidērourgós). Compare Italian, Portuguese, Spanish siderurgia, Catalan siderúrgia and French sidérurgie.


austemper

en-verb

austemper (third-person singular simple present austempers, present participle austempering, simple past and past participle austempered)

austempers (present singular third-person)
austempering (participle present)
austempered (participle past)
austempered (past)

(transitive) To harden (a metal) and produce a stronger microstructure by heating it into the austenite region and then immediately quenching and removing any bainite and ausferrite.


white metal

en-noun

white metal (countable and uncountable, plural white metals)

(music) Christian-themed heavy metal, as distinguished from black metal.


oroide

oroide (countable and uncountable, plural oroides)

/ˈoʊɹəˌwaɪd/

From French, from or (“gold”) + Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos, “appearance”, “shape”, “form”).

uder

James Williams testified before the coroner's jury, in the Lizey Thompson homicide, that the watch and other jewelry of the deceased were oroide, and not valuable.

1873, James Williams, Fugitive Slave in the Gold Rush: Life and Adventures of James Williams, published 2002:

(dated) An alloy of copper and zinc or tin that has a gold color, used in making inexpensive jewelry.


gray iron

en-noun

gray iron (countable and uncountable, plural gray irons)

An alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon that contains 1.7 to 4.5% carbon and 1 to 3% silicon.


white iron

white iron (countable and uncountable, plural white irons)

A kind of cast iron that contains carbon as cementite, unlike gray iron, which contains carbon as graphite.


Nitinol

Nitinol (countable and uncountable, plural Nitinols)

Compound of the chemical symbols Ni (“nickel”) and Ti (“titanium”) + NOL (“Naval Ordnance Laboratory”).

An alloy of nickel and titanium that has the ability to return to a predetermined shape when heated.


nickel steel

nickel steel (countable and uncountable, plural nickel steels)

(chemistry, industrial) steel that contains approximately 6% of nickel, increasing its strength


constantan

constantan (countable and uncountable, plural constantans)

An alloy of copper and nickel whose resistivity is constant over a wide temperature range.


paktong

paktong (countable and uncountable, plural paktongs)

Anglicisation of Cantonese 白銅／白铜 (baak6 tung4, “white copper”).

Chinese export metalwork consists almost entirely of three categories: silverware; pewterware; and paktong, an alloy of zinc, copper and nickel, closely resembling silver, which the Chinese also described as tutenague, and which was probably worked by white metalsmiths also making pewter.

1980, James Thomas Herbert Baily, The Connoisseur: an Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, volume 205, page 108:

Many German-silver paktongs were soon flourishing under a variety of trade names, […]

1928, The Metal industry, volume 31, page 227:

From the surviving descriptions it seems likely that during the later eighteenth century most paktong items were sold (in England at least) misleadingly under the name tutenag.

1995, Duncan R. Hook, David R. M. Gaimster, British Museum. Dept of Scientific Research, Trade and Discovery: The Scientific Study of Artefacts from Post-Medieval Europe and Beyond, page 265:

An alloy of zinc, copper and nickel, closely resembling silver, of Chinese origin; any of a number of similar alloys developed in imitation of the Chinese product.


bell metal

bell metal (usually uncountable, plural bell metals)

A hard alloy of about four parts of copper to one of tin, used for making bells.


Muntz metal

Named after George Fredrick Muntz, a metal-roller of Birmingham, England who commercialised the alloy following his patent of 1832.

A form of brass with about 60% copper, 40% zinc, and a trace of iron.


Mannheim gold

From Mannheim in Germany, where much of it was made.

A kind of brass, containing around 80% copper and 20% zinc, made in imitation of gold.


silumin

silumin (countable and uncountable, plural silumins)

An alloy based upon silicon and aluminium.


occamy

The ten ſhillings, this thimble, and an occamy ſpoon from ſome poor ſinner, are all the atonement which is made for the body of ſin in London and Weſtminſter.

1713 April 10, Richard Steele, The Guardian^(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Guardian_(Vol_1).pdf), volume 1, number 26, page 150:


tutenag

From French toutenague, from Portuguese tutenaga, tutanaga, from Tamil துத்தநாகம் (tuttanākam, “raw zinc”). Doublet of tutty.


Wood's metal

Named after Barnabas Wood, American dentist and inventor.

A fusible alloy consisting of one or two parts of cadmium, two parts of tin, four of lead, and seven or eight of bismuth.


Bessemer steel

en-noun

Bessemer steel (countable and uncountable, plural Bessemer steels)

Named after Sir Henry Bessemer, the English engineer who invented the process.

Steel made directly from cast iron by burning out a portion of the carbon and other impurities that the latter contains, through the agency of a blast of air which is forced through the molten metal.


Aich's metal

Named after the inventor, Mr. Nathan Aich.

(archaic) A kind of gunmetal, containing copper, zinc, and iron, but no tin or lead.


Damascus steel

Damascus steel (countable and uncountable, plural Damascus steels)


phosphor bronze

phosphor bronze (countable and uncountable, plural phosphor bronzes)

The weight of the body and the traction and braking forces are taken by the conventional dished bogie centre pivot with phosphor-bronze liner; this type of centre pivot facilitates passage over marshalling yard humps.

1962 December, “The B.R. standard diesel-electric Type 1 locomotive”, in Modern Railways, page 382:

Any alloy of copper with 3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus, notable for toughness, strength, low coefficient of friction, and fine grain.


zamak

zamak (countable and uncountable, plural zamaks)

From a trademark. It is an acronym of the German names for the metals: Zink, Aluminium, Magnesium, Kupfer.

Any of a family of alloys with a zinc base and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium, and copper.


crown gold

A 22-carat alloy of gold with copper or silver, introduced in England for gold crown coin manufacture in 1526.


ferroboron

ferroboron (usually uncountable, plural ferroborons)

An alloy of iron and boron used in the production of specialist steels


Galinstan

Trade name, from gallium, indium, and Latin stannum (“tin”).

An alloy of gallium, indium and tin which is liquid at room temperature.


Abyssinian gold

It proved to be a spoon made of Abyssinian gold, a composition closely resembling in appearance the real article.

1904, Mark Sykes, Edmund Sandars, D'Ordel's Pantechnicon:

An alloy of approximately 90% copper and 10% zinc.


ferromolybdenum

ferromolybdenum (countable and uncountable, plural ferromolybdenums)


Monel

He also quotes Mr. Cox as saying: "they were, however, glad to avail themselves of S.R. knowledge of steel firebox stays," but that could not apply to the "Nelson" class, the first six of which had boilers with copper stays and the remainder stays of monel metal, as far as I can remember.

1947 January and February, H. Holcroft, “"Castles", "Lord Nelsons" and "Royal Scots"”, in Railway Magazine, pages 13–14:


plasteel

Grunting, he heaved to his feet and looked out the lucilite port at the surface of Saturn. Cold and rugged it was, lashed by furious gales that tore with futile fury at the plasteel dome which Elmer Dunk called home.

1942 March, Gord Peck, “He Was Poor...But He Was Honest”, in Censored, volume 1, number 3, St. Andrew's College, Aurora, page 7:

The passage, two paces deep, opened through a heavy door into a square office lighted by golden glowglobes. Jessica passed her hand across the door as she entered, was startled to identify plasteel.

(science fiction) A fictional durable substance.


mokume-gane

Japanese 木目金, literally "woodgrain metal".

A mixed-metal laminate with distinctive layered patterns.


malleable iron

Iron that is cast as white iron and then transformed into malleable form through an annealing heat treatment.

可鍛鑄鐵 /可锻铸铁

white iron transformed into malleable form


speculum metal

A mixture of around two-thirds copper and one-third tin making a white brittle alloy that can be polished into a highly reflective surface.


iron sand

iron sand (countable and uncountable, plural iron sands)


mild steel

mild steel (countable and uncountable, plural mild steels)

A kind of steel having a lower proportion of carbon than hardenable steels, rendering it softer and more malleable and ductile.


tool steel

tool steel (countable and uncountable, plural tool steels)

Any of a variety of carbon and alloy steels that are particularly suited for making tools.


metallurgical coal

metallurgical coal (countable and uncountable, plural metallurgical coals)

The type of coal used for the making of steel.


sideraphthite

(archaic) An alloy, mostly iron and nickel with lesser amounts of tungsten, aluminum, and copper.


wire wool

wire wool (countable and uncountable, plural wire wools)

Coordinate term: wool

Any of several wools made of metal wire; especially, steel wool (when not otherwise specified).


kuromido

A Japanese alloy of copper with a small amount of arsenic.


shibuichi

Japanese 四分一, literally "one fourth", referring to the standard formulation of one part silver to three parts copper.

A Japanese silver-copper alloy that can be patinated into a range of muted shades of blue or green through the use of rokusho.


shakudo

The recipe for shakudo is unknown; each Japanese metalsmith had his own secret recipe.

2024 May 16, Jill Newman, “When Form(s) Follows Function”, in The New York Times:

A billon of gold and copper that can be treated to form a dark indigo patina resembling lacquer.


tumbaga

Borrowed from Spanish tumbaga, from Malay tembaga, from Sanskrit ताम्रक (tāmraka). Doublet of tombak.

A gold-copper alloy used by the pre-Columbian cultures of Central America to make religious objects.


white copper

white copper (usually uncountable, plural white coppers)

An alloy of copper with zinc and nickel, having the appearance of silver.


bronze steel

A hard tough alloy of tin, copper, and iron, formerly used for guns.


calamine brass

Brass produced by a particular alloying technique using the zinc ore calamine directly, rather than first refining it to metallic zinc.


steel mill

An industrial facility that produces or processes steel.


alpha brass

alpha brass (countable and uncountable, plural alpha brasses)

Any of various malleable brasses with more than 65% copper and less than 35% zinc.


Field's metal

Named after its inventor, Simon Quellen Field.

A fusible eutectic alloy of bismuth, indium, and tin.


Rose's metal

Discovered by the German chemist Valentin Rose the Elder.

A fusible alloy with a low melting point, consisting of bismuth, lead, and tin.


babbitt metal

babbitt metal (countable and uncountable, plural babbitt metals)

After American inventor Isaac Babbitt (1799–1862) who invented the alloy.

An elaborate test of six samples of babbitt metals was recently made in England by a Professor of Engineering, assisted by a metallurgist, which was published by a prominent engineering journal occupying six columns with charts, tables and photographs.

1911, “Testing Babbitt Metals”, in The International Steam Engineer, volume 19, page 400:

At a recent meeting of purchasing agents in St. Louis there was an address delivered by Alfred A. Greene, of the National Lead Co., on babbitt metal.

1919 May, “Something Interesting in Babbitt”, in The Brass World and Platers Guide, volume 15, page 164:

Always use this "virgin" babbitt metal for high-speed shafts — those that spin at more than 2,000 rpm, such as cutter-heads on jointers and planers. Old babbitt metal, which may have been adulterated with lead, can be melted and repoured for less critical, low-speed shafts like countershafts and bandsaw arbors.

1995 October, American Woodworker, page 51:

A soft white alloy of variable composition (for example, nine parts of tin to one of copper, or fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction.

valkometalli

soft white alloy of variable composition — see also babbitt


amethyst gold

A brittle alloy of gold and aluminium, having a purple colour.


blue gold

An alloy of gold with gallium or indium, having a greyish or slightly blue colour.


cast steel

cast steel (countable and uncountable, plural cast steels)

(countable, uncountable) The steel making up a steel casting, in the sense of one cast to finished (net) or near-net shape: the product of a steel foundry (as opposed to a steel mill); the steel counterpart to cast iron.