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metallurgy

 - 3 dictionary results

met⋅al⋅lur⋅gy

[met-l-ur-jee or, especially Brit., muh-tal-er-jee]
–noun
1. the technique or science of working or heating metals so as to give them certain desired shapes or properties.
2. the technique or science of making and compounding alloys.
3. the technique or science of separating metals from their ores.

Origin:
1695–1705; < NL metallurgia < Gk metallourg(ós) working in metals, mining + NL -ia -ia. See metall-, -urgy


met⋅al⋅lur⋅gic, met⋅al⋅lur⋅gi⋅cal, adjective
met⋅al⋅lur⋅gi⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
met⋅al⋅lur⋅gist [met-l-ur-jist or, especially Brit., muh-tal-er-jist] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To metallurgy
met·al·lur·gy   (mět'l-ûr'jē)   
n.  
  1. The science that deals with procedures used in extracting metals from their ores, purifying and alloying metals, and creating useful objects from metals.

  2. The study of metals and their properties in bulk and at the atomic level.


[New Latin metallūrgia, from Greek metallourgos, miner, worker in metals : metallon, a mine, metal + -ourgos, -worker (from ergon, work; see werg- in Indo-European roots).]
met'al·lur'gic, met'al·lur'gi·cal adj., met'al·lur'gi·cal·ly adv., met'al·lur'gist 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.
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Word Origin & History

metallurgy 
1704, from Gk. metallourgos "worker in metal," from metallon "metal" (see metal) + ergon "work" (see urge (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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