amalgam

[ uh-mal-guhm ]
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noun
  1. an alloy of mercury with another metal or metals.

  2. an alloy that consists chiefly of silver mixed with mercury and variable amounts of other metals and is used as a dental filling.

  1. a rare mineral, an alloy of silver and mercury, occurring as silver-white crystals or grains.

  2. a mixture or combination: His character is a strange amalgam of contradictory traits.

Origin of amalgam

1
1425–75; late Middle English amalgam(e) <Middle French <Medieval Latin <dialectal Arabic al the + malgham<Greek málagma softening agent, equivalent to malak- (stem of malássein to soften) + -ma noun suffix

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How to use amalgam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for amalgam

amalgam

/ (əˈmælɡəm) /


noun
  1. an alloy of mercury with another metal, esp with silver: dental amalgam

  2. a rare white metallic mineral that consists of silver and mercury and occurs in deposits of silver and cinnabar

  1. a blend or combination

Origin of amalgam

1
C15: from Medieval Latin amalgama, of obscure origin

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

Scientific definitions for amalgam

amalgam

[ ə-mălgəm ]


  1. An alloy of mercury and another metal, especially:

  2. An alloy of mercury and silver used in dental fillings.

  1. An alloy of silver and tin used in silvering mirrors.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.