cupel
Americannoun
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a small, cuplike, porous container, usually made of bone ash, used in assaying, as for separating gold and silver from lead.
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a receptacle or furnace bottom in which silver is refined.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a refractory pot in which gold or silver is refined
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a small porous bowl made of bone ash in which gold and silver are recovered from a lead button during assaying
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cupel
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin cūpella, equivalent to Latin cūp ( a ) tub + -ella diminutive suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These metals are heated until the lead and the copper are consumed, and again, the same weight of each is melted in the same manner in another cupel.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
The resulting alloy, which is called the lead button, is then submitted to fusion on a very porous support, made of bone-ash, and called a cupel.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various
Finally, rub the gold which has settled in the bottom of the cupel, after it has been taken out and cooled, on the touchstone, in order to find out what proportion of silver it contains.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
If you also wish to know what portion of silver is contained in the lead, melt the lead in the cupel until all of it exhales.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
The essential property of a cupel is, that it is sufficiently porous to allow the fused oxide to drain into it as fast as it is formed.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
Enough, however, remains to demonstrate that the galena was smelted in small furnaces at low heat, with forced draught, and that it was subsequently cupelled.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
Three lots of 1 gram of gold cupelled each with 20 grams of lead repeatedly, so as to make 13 cupellations in all, lost in actual weight 35.72 milligrams.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
These concentrates—mostly galena—were smelted in low furnaces and the lead was subsequently cupelled.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
The dish with the dried residue is then scorified and the resulting button of lead is cupelled.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The whole of the "metallics" scorified and cupelled gave 0.842 gram of silver.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
If these larger cupels are not at hand the larger buttons will have to be reduced in size by a scorification before cupelling.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The best confirmatory test is made by wrapping the precipitate in a little sheet lead, and cupelling, when the silver will be left in the metallic state, and is easily recognized.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
Determination of Silver in Copper.—The silver is best separated in the wet way before cupelling, but if the proportion is not too small, it can be found by cupellation.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The determination may also be made by cupelling the button of lead got in the dry lead assay.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
Silver, &c., in gold bullion.—The base metals are generally determined by cupelling .5 gram of the alloy with 5 grams of lead.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
