misch metal

American

[mish] / mɪʃ /

noun

a pyrophoric alloy, containing approximately 50 percent cerium and 45 percent lanthanum, made from a mixture of various rare-earth chlorides by electrolysis.

misch metal British

/ mɪʃ /

noun

an alloy of cerium and other rare earth metals, used esp as a flint in cigarette lighters

"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 misch metal

1920–25; < German Mischmetall, equivalent to misch ( en ) to mix + Metall metal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023