The raw materials— tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold—were dubbed “conflict minerals.”
One and all, they come shaking their tin cups at election time then run like the wind when a critical vote comes up.
“I have personally been to gold recyclers in Japan, tin smelters in Indonesia and fold refiners in Canada,” she said.
In China, for example, tungsten, tantalum, tin and gold are mined and ore is imported from other countries.
I had to retrieve the tin from a special compacter before it was crushed, an exercise in timing.
Then he tossed his tin dishes away and they fell clattering on the rocks.
A tin cup and a cracked pitcher of spring water stood on the window-sill.
The cooking was done in a tin basin on the top of the hot stove.
On top of the barrel was a tin coffeepot, a china cup, and half a loaf of bread.
I played with clay gods and goddesses instead of tin soldiers.
Old English tin, from Proto-Germanic *tinom (cf. Middle Dutch and Dutch tin, Old High German zin, German Zinn, Old Norse tin), of unknown origin, not found outside Germanic.
Other Indo-European languages often have separate words for "tin" as a raw metal and "tin plate;" e.g. French étain, fer-blanc. Pliny refers to tin as plumbum album "white lead," and for centuries it was regarded as a form of silver debased by lead.
The chemical symbol Sn is from Late Latin stannum (see stannic). Tin-type in photography is from 1864. Tin ear "lack of musical discernment" is from 1909. Tin Lizzie "early Ford, especially a Model T," first recorded 1915.
tin (tĭn)
n.
Symbol Sn
A malleable metallic element used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion. Atomic number 50; atomic weight 118.71; melting point 231.89°C; boiling point 2,602°C; specific gravity 7.31; valence 2, 4.
| tin Symbol Sn A malleable, silvery metallic element that occurs in igneous rocks. It has a crystalline structure and crackles when bent. Tin is used as an anticorrosion agent and is a part of numerous alloys, including bronze. Atomic number 50; atomic weight 118.71; melting point 231.89°C; boiling point 2,270°C; specific gravity 7.31; valence 2, 4. See Periodic Table. See Note at element. |
noun
