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amalgam

noun
/əˈmæl.ɡəm/

Etymology

From Medieval Latin amalgama (“mercury alloy”), from Arabic اَلْمَلْغَم (al-malḡam, “emollient poultice or unguent for sores”), from Ancient Greek μάλαγμα (málagma, “emollient; malleable material”), from μαλάσσω (malássō, “to soften”), from μαλακός (malakós, “soft”). Doublet of malagma. For the verb, compare French amalgamer.

  1. derived from μάλαγμα — “emollient; malleable material”
  2. derived from ملغم — “emollient poultice or unguent for sores”
  3. borrowed from amalgama — “mercury alloy”

Definitions

  1. An alloy containing mercury.

  2. A combination of different things.

    • […] nor must we overlook, in quite recent times, the ingenious "Dukedog", a little 4-4-0 (officially 90XX class) whose Victorian lineaments arise from an economical amalgam of obsolete "Duke" and "Bulldog" components.
    • This was the Ambergate, Nottingham & Boston & Eastern Junction Railway, an amalgam of a number of separate schemes put forward in 1845, which secured its Act on July 16, 1846.
    • A church where spirit, pain, and joy formed a holy amalgam and were righteously acknowledged out loud.

  3. One of the ingredients in an alloy.

  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. An alloy of mercury used to fill tooth cavities.

    2. To amalgamate (something) with a thing.

      • gold t’amalgam with some six of mercury
      • […] I had once occaſion to diſtil in a ſmall Retort ſome Gold amalgamed vvith ſuch a fine and ſubtile Mercury, that being (vvithout the addition of any Salt) put to the Gold in the cold, they preſently grevv hot together.

The neighborhood

Derived

amalgamable, amalgam carrier, amalgam gilding, amalgamize, amalgam tattoo, Amalgamverse, gold amalgam, leadamalgam, sodium amalgam

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for amalgam. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA