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enamel

[ ih-nam-uhl ]
/ ɪˈnæm əl /
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See synonyms for: enamel / enameled / enameling / enamelled on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object), e·nam·eled, e·nam·el·ing or (especially British) e·nam·elled, e·nam·el·ling.
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Origin of enamel

1275–1325; Middle English enamelen<Anglo-French enameler, enamailler, equivalent to en-en-1 + -amaler, derivative of asmal, esmal enamel, Old French esmail (-al taken as the suffix -ail) <Old Low Franconian *smalt- something melted, cognate with German Schmalz fat; akin to smelt1; cf. smalto

OTHER WORDS FROM enamel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use enamel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for enamel

enamel
/ (ɪˈnæməl) /

noun
verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled (tr)

Derived forms of enamel

enameller, enamellist, US enameler or enamelist, nounenamelwork, noun

Word Origin for enamel

C15: from Old French esmail, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German smalz lard; see smelt 1
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

Scientific definitions for enamel

enamel
[ ĭ-năməl ]

The hard, translucent substance covering the exposed portion of a tooth in mammals. Enamel is the hardest substance in the body, and consists mostly of calcium salts.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for enamel

enamel

The hard, white substance that covers the crown of a tooth.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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