Tambac

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tambac \Tam"bac\, n. (Metal.)
     See {Tombac}. [Obs.]
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Tombac \Tom"bac\, n. [Pg. tambaca,tambaque, fr. Malay tamb[=a]ga
     copper; cf. Skr. t[=a]mraka; cf. F. tombac.] (Metal.)
     An alloy of copper and zinc, resembling brass, and containing
     about 84 per cent of copper; -- called also {German brass} or
     {Dutch brass}. It is very malleable and ductile, and when
     beaten into thin leaves is sometimes called {Dutch metal}.
     The addition of arsenic makes {white tombac}. [Written also
     {tombak}, and {tambac}.]
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tambac
       n : an alloy of copper and zinc (and sometimes arsenic) used to
           imitate gold in cheap jewelry and for gilding [syn: {tombac},
            {tombak}]