Amalgam

4 definitions found

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

  amalgam \a*mal"gam\ ([.a]*m[a^]l"gam), n. [F. amalgame, prob.
     fr. L. malagma, Gr. ma`lagma, emollient, plaster, poultice,
     fr. mala`ssein to make soft, fr. malako`s soft.]
     1. An alloy of mercury with another metal or metals; as, an
        amalgam of tin, bismuth, etc.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     Note: Medalists apply the term to soft alloys generally.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A mixture or compound of different things.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Min.) A native compound of mercury and silver.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  amalgam \a*mal"gam\, v. t. & i. [Cf. F. amalgamer]
     To amalgamate. --Boyle. --B. Jonson.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  amalgam
       n 1: an alloy of mercury with another metal (usually silver) used
            by dentists to fill cavities in teeth; except for iron
            and platinum all metals dissolve in mercury and chemists
            refer to the resulting mercury mixtures as amalgams
            [syn: {dental amalgam}]
       2: a combination or blend of diverse things; "his theory is an
          amalgam of earlier ideas"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  22 Moby Thesaurus words for "amalgam":
     admixture, alloy, alloyage, amalgamation, blend, combination,
     combo, commixture, composite, composition, compound, concoction,
     confection, ensemble, fusion, immixture, interfusion, intermixture,
     magma, mix, mixture, paste