type metal

noun

an alloy for making printing types, consisting chiefly of lead and antimony, and sometimes small quantities of tin, copper, etc.

Origin of type metal

First recorded in 1790–1800

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for type metal

Historical Examples of type metal

This shell is backed with type-metal and is then ready for use.
What Philately Teaches
John N. Luff
Type-metal is an alloy of lead with antimony and tin, to which occasionally a small quantity of copper or zinc is added.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2
Various
With a result not very different was the application of antimony in the composition of printer's type-metal.
History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume II (of 2)
John William Draper
Having been sent to the casting-room, the types are slightly oiled, and surrounded with a frame of brass or type-metal.
Popular Technology; Volume 2
Edward Hazen
The type-metal is prepared for immediate use by melting it, as fast as it may be needed, in a small crucible, over a coal fire.
Popular Technology; Volume 2
Edward Hazen

British Dictionary definitions for type metal

type metal

noun

printing an alloy of tin, lead, and antimony, from which type is cast

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