spelter

American

[spel-ter] / ˈspɛl tər /

noun

zinc, especially in the form of ingots.

spelter British

/ ˈspɛltə /

noun

impure zinc, usually containing about 3 per cent of lead and other impurities

"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 spelter

1655–65; origin uncertain; akin to Middle Dutch speauter, German spiauter spelter

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.

In making the truck and tender wheels of these early locomotives, the hubs were cast in three pieces and afterward banded with wrought-iron, the interstices being filled with spelter.

From Project Gutenberg

The metallic zinc on the market is known as spelter.

From Project Gutenberg

Drugs, pepper, coffee, tea, other sugars, indigo, cochineal, copper, and spelter, 7000 loads.

From Project Gutenberg

Swansea has almost a monopoly of the manufacture of spelter or zinc.

From Project Gutenberg

The alloy is composed of copper, tin, spelter, or zinc and lead, which metals are manipulated.

From Project Gutenberg

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