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pinchbeck definition

pinch·beck (pinc̸h′bek′)

noun

  1. an alloy of copper and zinc used to imitate gold in cheap jewelry
  2. anything cheap or imitation

Etymology: after C. Pinchbeck, Eng jeweler who invented it (c. 1725)

adjective

  1. made of pinchbeck
  2. cheap, imitation, sham, etc.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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