Alloy Definition
ăloi, ə-loi
alloyed, alloying, alloys
noun
alloys
A metallic solid or liquid that is composed of a homogeneous mixture of two or more metals or of metals and nonmetal or metalloid elements, usually for the purpose of imparting or increasing specific characteristics or properties.
Brass is an alloy of zinc and copper.
American Heritage
The relative purity of gold or silver; fineness.
Webster's New World
A mixture; an amalgam.
American Heritage
A substance that is a mixture, as by fusion, of two or more metals, or of a metal and something else.
Webster's New World
The relative degree of mixture with a base metal; fineness.
American Heritage
verb
alloyed, alloying, alloys
To combine (metals) to form an alloy.
American Heritage
To make (a metal) less pure by mixing with a less valuable metal.
Webster's New World
To combine; mix.
Idealism that was alloyed with political skill.
American Heritage
To mix (metals) to form an alloy.
Webster's New World
To debase by the addition of an inferior element.
American Heritage
Origin of Alloy
-
Alteration (influenced by French aloi) of obsolete allay from Middle English alay from Old North French allai from allayer to alloy from Latin alligāre to bind ad- ad- ligāre to bind leig- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Old French aloiier (“assemble, join”), from Latin alligare (“bind to, tie to”), compound of ad (“to”) + ligare (“to bind”).
From Wiktionary
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From Anglo-Norman alai, from Old French aloi, from aloiier.
From Wiktionary
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