Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches

cupel

 - 2 dictionary results

cu⋅pel

[kyoo-puhl, kyoo-pel] noun, verb, -peled, -pel⋅ing or (especially British) -pelled, -pel⋅ling.
–noun
1. a small, cuplike, porous container, usually made of bone ash, used in assaying, as for separating gold and silver from lead.
2. a receptacle or furnace bottom in which silver is refined.
–verb (used with object)
3. to heat or refine in a cupel.

Origin:
1595–1605; < ML cūpella, equiv. to L cūp(a) tub + -ella dim. suffix


cu⋅pel⋅er [kyoo-puh-ler] , cu⋅pel⋅ler [kyoo-pel-er] , noun
cu⋅pel⋅la⋅tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cupel
cu·pel   (kyōō'pəl, kyōō-pěl')   
n.  
  1. A porous cup, often made of bone ash, used in assaying to separate precious metals from base elements such as lead.

  2. The bottom or receptacle in a silver-refining furnace.

tr.v.   cu·peled or cu·pelled, cu·pel·ing or cu·pel·ling, cu·pels
To assay or separate from base metals in a cupel.

[French coupelle, from Old French, diminutive of coupe, cup, from Late Latin cuppa, drinking vessel.]
cu'pel·ler, cu'pel·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see cupel on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: