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electrum

American  
[ih-lek-truhm] / ɪˈlɛk trəm /

noun

  1. an amber-colored alloy of gold and silver used in ancient times.

  2. an alloy composed of about 50 percent copper, 30 percent nickel, and 20 percent zinc.

  3. German silver; nickel silver.


electrum British  
/ ɪˈlɛktrəm /

noun

  1. an alloy of gold (55–88 per cent) and silver used for jewellery and ornaments

"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

Etymology

Origin of electrum

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek ḗlektron amber, alloy of gold and silver

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:

This song has an axis of electrum, chile.

From New York Times Sep. 7, 2022

Before Croesus the Greeks used coins of a gold and silver alloy called electrum.

From Time Magazine Archive

Responsible banking opinion everywhere last week treated electrum talk as September madness.

From Time Magazine Archive

Traffic, get gain, electrum from the mine Of Lydia, and the gold of Ind!

From The Seven Plays in English Verse by Sophocles

Amber was known to the Greeks by the name electrum, but whether the alloy of the same name took its name from the colour of amber or vice versa is uncertain.

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola

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