noun 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.
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
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for amalgam Contemporary Examples of amalgam 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.
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 of amalgam These are the places in which the gold, quicksilver, and amalgam are caught.
Amalgam can be separated from dirt by washing, almost as well as gold.
Will it be difficult to combine tin and mercury, so as to make an amalgam ?
This mercury united with both the gold and the silver, making an amalgam .
The quicksilver clings to the gold and forms an amalgam with it.
British Dictionary definitions for amalgam noun an alloy of mercury with another metal, esp with silver dental 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 for amalgam C15: from Medieval Latin amalgama, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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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
n. 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.
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.
