amalgam

See also: Amalgam and amalgám

English

An amalgam (noun sense 4).

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈmæl.ɡəm/
• Hyphenation: a‧mal‧gam

• Audio (US):

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Noun

amalgam (countable and uncountable, plural amalgams)

1. (metallurgy) An alloy containing mercury.
2. A combination of different things.
   • 1956 October, R. S. McNaught, “Locomotive Nicknames”, in Railway Magazine, page 698:

     […] 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.

   • 1960 March, J. P. Wilson, E. N. C. Haywood, “The route through the Peak - Derby to Manchester: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 149:

     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.

   • 1987 December 20, Barbara Smith, “We Must Always Bury Our Dead Twice”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 23, page 10:

     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.
5. (dentistry) An alloy of mercury used to fill tooth cavities.

Synonyms

• alloy, blend, combo, compound, conglomerate, mixture

Derived terms

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

Related terms

• amalgamate
• amalgamation

Translations

alloy

• Arabic: مَلْغَم m (malḡam), مَلْغَمَة f (malḡama)
• Bulgarian: амалга́ма (bg) f (amalgáma)
• Catalan: amalgama (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 汞齊 / 汞齐 (zh) (gǒngjì)

• Czech: amalgám (cs) m
• Danish: amalgam (da) n
• Dutch: amalgaam (nl) n
• Finnish: amalgaami (fi)
• French: amalgame (fr) m
• German: Amalgam (de) n
• Greek: αμάλγαμα (el) n (amálgama)
• Hungarian: amalgám (hu)
• Indonesian: amalgam (id)
• Italian: amalgama (it) m
• Macedonian: амалга́м m (amalgám)
• Malay: amalgam
• Manx: co-lheian m
• Persian: ملغمه (fa) (malġame)
• Polish: amalgamat (pl) m, ortęć (pl) f
• Portuguese: amálgama (pt) m or f
• Romanian: amalgam (ro) n
• Russian: амальга́ма (ru) f (amalʹgáma)
• Spanish: amalgama (es) f
• Swedish: amalgam (sv) n
• Turkish: amalgam (tr), malgama (tr)
• Ukrainian: амальга́ма (uk) f (amalʹháma)
• Vietnamese: hỗn hống (vi)
• Welsh: aloi m, erblith m

combination

• Catalan: amalgama (ca) f
• Finnish: amalgaami (fi)
• French: amalgame (fr) m
• Greek: αμάλγαμα (el) n (amálgama), κράμα (el) n (kráma), σύμφυρμα (el) n (sýmfyrma)
• Macedonian: амалга́м m (amalgám), смеса f (smesa)
• Manx: co-lheian m
• Persian: ملغمه (fa) (malġame)
• Polish: amalgamat (pl) m, amalgam (pl) m
• Portuguese: amálgama (pt) m or f
• Romanian: amestecătură (ro) f
• Russian: амальга́ма (ru) f (amalʹgáma)
• Spanish: amalgama (es) f
• Welsh: erblith m

Verb

amalgam (third-person singular simple present amalgams, present participle amalgaming, simple past and past participle amalgamed)

1. (ambitransitive, archaic) To amalgamate (something) with a thing.
   • 1610 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Alchemist, London: […] Thomas Snodham, for Walter Burre, and are to be sold by Iohn Stepneth, […], published 1612, →OCLC, (please specify the Internet Archive page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     gold t’amalgam with some six of mercury

   • 1684, Robert Boyle, “An Essay on the Porousness of Solid Bodies. Chapter VIII.”, in Experiments and Considerations about the Porosity of Bodies, in Two Essays, London: […] Sam[uel] Smith […], →OCLC, page 143:

     […] 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.

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “amalgam”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• David Barthelmy (1997–2026), “Amalgam”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
• “amalgam”, in Mindat.org, Keswick, Va.: Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2026.
• “amalgam”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• Amalgam (dentistry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Amalgam (chemistry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• malagma

Cornish

Etymology

Borrowed from English amalgam

Noun

amalgam m (plural amalgamys)

1. amalgam

References

• “amalgam” in Cornish Dictionary / Gerlyver Kernewek, Akademi Kernewek.

Icelandic

Etymology

From Latin amalgama, 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaːmalˌkam]

Noun

amalgam n (genitive singular amalgams, no plural)

1. amalgam

Declension

Declension of amalgam (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	amalgam	amalgamið
accusative	amalgam	amalgamið
dative	amalgami	amalgaminu
genitive	amalgams	amalgamsins

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch amalgaam, from French amalgame, from Latin amalgama, 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈamalɡam]
• Hyphenation: amal‧gam

Noun

amalgam (plural amalgam-amalgam)

1. amalgam:
   1. (chemistry) an alloy containing mercury
   2. (dentistry) material of silver tooth fillings

Derived terms

• pengamalgam
• pengamalgaman

Related terms

• amalgamasi

Further reading

• “amalgam”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Malay

Etymology

From English amalgam, 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”).

Noun

amalgam (Jawi spelling املݢم, plural amalgam-amalgam or amalgam²)

1. (metallurgy) amalgam

Further reading

• "amalgam" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Polish

Alternative forms

• amalgama (obsolete)

Etymology

Internationalism; compare English amalgam. Possibly borrowed from German Amalgam, French amalgame, or Spanish amalgama, ultimately from Medieval Latin amalgama, from Arabic الْمَلْغَم (al-malḡam), from Ancient Greek μάλαγμα (málagma). First attested in 1771.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈmal.ɡam/
• Rhymes: -alɡam
• Syllabification: a‧mal‧gam

Noun

amalgam m inan

1. (metallurgy) amalgam (alloy containing mercury)

   Synonyms: amalgamat, ortęć

2. (literary) amalgam (combination of different things)

   Synonyms: aliaż, amalgamat, melanż, mieszanina, mieszanka

Declension

Declension of amalgam

	singular	plural
nominative	amalgam	amalgamy
genitive	amalgamu	amalgamów
dative	amalgamowi	amalgamom
accusative	amalgam	amalgamy
instrumental	amalgamem	amalgamami
locative	amalgamie	amalgamach
vocative	amalgamie	amalgamy

Related terms

adjective

• amalgamatowy

nouns

• amalgamacja
• amalgamat

verb

• amalgamować

Further reading

• “amalgam”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “amalgam”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “amalgam”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “amalgam”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 29
• amalgam in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

Romanian

Alternative forms

• амалгам (amalgam) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from French amalgame, from Latin amalgama, 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.malˈɡam/
• Rhymes: -am
• Hyphenation: a‧mal‧gam

Noun

amalgam n (plural amalgame)

1. amalgam

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	amalgam	amalgamul	amalgame	amalgamele
genitive-dative	amalgam	amalgamului	amalgame	amalgamelor
vocative	amalgamule		amalgamelor

Further reading

• “amalgam”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /amǎlɡaːm/
• Hyphenation: a‧mal‧gam

Noun

amàlgām m inan (Cyrillic spelling ама̀лга̄м)

1. amalgam

Declension

Declension of amalgam

	singular	plural
nominative	amàlgām	amalgami
genitive	amalgáma	amalgama
dative	amalgamu	amalgamima
accusative	amalgam	amalgame
vocative	amalgame	amalgami
locative	amalgamu	amalgamima
instrumental	amalgamom	amalgamima

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin amalgama, 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”).

Noun

amalgam n

1. amalgam

Declension

Declension of amalgam

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	amalgam	amalgams
	definite	amalgamet	amalgamets
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Turkish

Etymology

From French amalgame, from Latin amalgama, 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.maɫˈɡam/

Noun

amalgam (definite accusative amalgamı, plural amalgamlar)

1. amalgam

   Synonym: malgama

Declension

Declension of amalgam

singular plural nominative amalgam amalgamlar definite accusative amalgamı amalgamları dative amalgama amalgamlara locative amalgamda amalgamlarda ablative amalgamdan amalgamlardan genitive amalgamın amalgamların Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular amalgamım amalgamlarım 2nd singular amalgamın amalgamların 3rd singular amalgamı amalgamları 1st plural amalgamımız amalgamlarımız 2nd plural amalgamınız amalgamlarınız 3rd plural amalgamları amalgamları definite accusative singular plural 1st singular amalgamımı amalgamlarımı 2nd singular amalgamını amalgamlarını 3rd singular amalgamını amalgamlarını 1st plural amalgamımızı amalgamlarımızı 2nd plural amalgamınızı amalgamlarınızı 3rd plural amalgamlarını amalgamlarını dative singular plural 1st singular amalgamıma amalgamlarıma 2nd singular amalgamına amalgamlarına 3rd singular amalgamına amalgamlarına 1st plural amalgamımıza amalgamlarımıza 2nd plural amalgamınıza amalgamlarınıza 3rd plural amalgamlarına amalgamlarına locative singular plural 1st singular amalgamımda amalgamlarımda 2nd singular amalgamında amalgamlarında 3rd singular amalgamında amalgamlarında 1st plural amalgamımızda amalgamlarımızda 2nd plural amalgamınızda amalgamlarınızda 3rd plural amalgamlarında amalgamlarında ablative singular plural 1st singular amalgamımdan amalgamlarımdan 2nd singular amalgamından amalgamlarından 3rd singular amalgamından amalgamlarından 1st plural amalgamımızdan amalgamlarımızdan 2nd plural amalgamınızdan amalgamlarınızdan 3rd plural amalgamlarından amalgamlarından genitive singular plural 1st singular amalgamımın amalgamlarımın 2nd singular amalgamının amalgamlarının 3rd singular amalgamının amalgamlarının 1st plural amalgamımızın amalgamlarımızın 2nd plural amalgamınızın amalgamlarınızın 3rd plural amalgamlarının amalgamlarının

Anagrams

• malgama