[vur-mil, -meyl or, especially for 2, ver-mey] 
| 1. | vermilion red. |
| 2. | metal, as silver or bronze, that has been gilded. |
| 3. | of the color vermilion. |
| ver·meil (vûr'məl, -māl') n.
[Middle English vermail, from Old French vermeil, from Late Latin vermiculus, a kind of red worm, from Latin, grub, diminutive of vermis, worm; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
vermeil
gilded silver produced either by the fire-gilding method or by electrolysis. In the former, earlier method the object is covered with an amalgam of gold and mercury; the mercury evaporates when the piece is fired, leaving a gold deposit. In the latter method, the silver object is wired as the cathode and a bar of gold as the anode, and both are immersed in an electrolytic solution; when an electric current is passed, gold ions are deposited on the silver object (cathode). After fire-gilding or electrolysis, the silver gilt is burnished, usually with a polished agate stone
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mɪl