ALLOY
What does "ALLOY" mean?
A metal made by combining two or more elements, at least one a metal.
Meanings
- A mixture of metals, or of a metal with another element, fused to gain useful properties. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.
- An admixture that lowers purity or quality. Her joy was without alloy. figurative
- To combine metals, or to debase by mixing. Gold is alloyed with copper to make it harder.
Did you know?
- An 'alloy' is metals 'bound together': the word shares Latin 'ligare' (to bind) with 'ally', 'ligament', and 'oblige'.
- An alloy named an age: bronze, copper mixed with tin, defines the Bronze Age that began around 3300 BCE - the first time a recipe for metal reshaped civilization.
Word origin
From Old French 'aloi', from 'aloier' (to combine), from Latin 'alligare' (to bind to), built from 'ad-' (to) plus 'ligare' (to bind), the same root as 'ligament' and 'ally'.
Remember it
ALLOY sounds like 'a-lloy' near 'ally' - both bind two things together (Latin 'ligare', to bind).
A little poem
Copper alone bends; tin alone breaks-
married in fire, they hold an edge
neither could keep apart.
tercet
Wordplay
- Two metals walked into a forge and came out an alloy. Now they're inseparable - which makes sense, since 'alloy' means 'bound together'.
What it teaches
Pure metals are weak; strength is an alloy - what holds an edge is rarely one thing alone.
Quick facts
What does ALLOY mean?
A metal made by combining two or more elements, at least one a metal.
Is ALLOY a valid word?
Yes — ALLOY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is ALLOY?
ALLOY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does ALLOY come from?
From Old French 'aloi', from 'aloier' (to combine), from Latin 'alligare' (to bind to), built from 'ad-' (to) plus 'ligare' (to bind), the same root as 'ligament' and 'ally'.
What can ALLOY teach us?
Pure metals are weak; strength is an alloy - what holds an edge is rarely one thing alone.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.