amalgam
[uh-mal-guh m]
- an alloy of mercury with another metal or metals.
- an alloy that consists chiefly of silver mixed with mercury and variable amounts of other metals and is used as a dental filling.
- a rare mineral, an alloy of silver and mercury, occurring as silver-white crystals or grains.
- a mixture or combination: His character is a strange amalgam of contradictory traits.
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Origin of amalgam
1425–75; late Middle English amalgam(e) < Middle French < Medieval Latin < dialectal Arabic al the + malgham < Greek málagma softening agent, equivalent to malak- (stem of malássein to soften) + -ma noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for amalgam
Contemporary Examples
Spall says that, faced with the contradictions in the research, they created an amalgam of them.
Well, it was based on an amalgam of bands—Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, and Van Halen.
Rob Reiner on the State of Romcoms, ‘The Princess Bride’s’ Alternate Ending, and the Red ViperMarlow Stern
July 27, 2014
The speech began as an amalgam of scare tactics and bipartisan appeal.
The struggling technology company is an amalgam of businesses that could be worth more separately than they are together.
Their Newt-defaming spot, “Serial Hypocrisy” is an amalgam of all the ads described above.
Historical Examples
Amalgam can be separated from dirt by washing, almost as well as gold.
Hittel on Gold Mines and MiningJohn S. Hittell
These are the places in which the gold, quicksilver, and amalgam are caught.
Hittel on Gold Mines and MiningJohn S. Hittell
Will it be difficult to combine tin and mercury, so as to make an amalgam?
The Wonder Island Boys: The TribesmenRoger Finlay
This mercury united with both the gold and the silver, making an amalgam.
Diggers in the EarthEva March Tappan
The quicksilver clings to the gold and forms an amalgam with it.
A Boy's Voyage Round the WorldThe Son of Samuel Smiles
amalgam
- an alloy of mercury with another metal, esp with silverdental amalgam
- a rare white metallic mineral that consists of silver and mercury and occurs in deposits of silver and cinnabar
- a blend or combination
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Word Origin
C15: from Medieval Latin amalgama, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for amalgam
n.
c.1400, "blend of mercury with another metal; soft mass formed by chemical manipulation," from Old French amalgame or directly from Medieval Latin amalgama, "alloy of mercury (especially with gold or silver)," an alchemists' word, perhaps an alteration of Latin malagma "poultice, plaster," probably from Arabic al-malgham "an emollient poultice or unguent for sores (especially warm)" [Francis Johnson, "A Dictionary of Persian, Arabic, and English"], perhaps from Greek malagma "softening substance," from malassein "to soften," from malakos "soft."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
amalgam
(ə-măl′gəm)- Any of various alloys of mercury with other metals, as with tin or silver, used for filling teeth.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
amalgam
[ə-măl′gəm]
- An alloy of mercury and another metal, especially:
- An alloy of mercury and silver used in dental fillings.
- An alloy of silver and tin used in silvering mirrors.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.