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Showing results for electrum. Search instead for thalictrum.

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

Silver was found in even greater abundance, both in ornaments and in vessels; besides which there were articles in electrum, which is an amalgam of silver with gold.

From History of Phoenicia by Rawlinson, George

These articles shall be engraved on a pillar of electrum, which shall be set up on the border in mid-air.

From Works of Lucian of Samosata — Volume 02 by Fowler, F. G. (Francis George)

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