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zinc

Zinc is a metallic element with a blue-white color used as a protective coating for iron and to make metal alloys like nickel silver.

(noun)

An example of zinc is to glavanize by covering iron with zinc.

See zinc in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a bluish-white, metallic chemical element, usually found in combination, used as a protective coating for iron, as a constituent in various alloys, as an electrode in electric batteries, and, in the form of salts, in medicines: symbol, Zn; at. no., 30

Origin: Ger zink, zinc, orig., prong, point: first used by Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus (c. 1526): from the form of the crystals on smelting; akin to OHG zint, a point, jag < Gmc *tindja > tine

transitive verb zincked or zinced, zincking or zincing

to coat or treat with zinc; galvanize

Related Forms:

zincic adjective or zincous
zincky adjective or zincy

See zinc in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun Symbol Zn

A bluish-white, lustrous metallic element that is brittle at room temperature but malleable with heating. It is used to form a wide variety of alloys including brass, bronze, various solders, and nickel silver, in galvanizing iron and other metals, for electric fuses, anodes, and meter cases, and in roofing, gutters, and various household objects. Atomic number 30; atomic weight 65.39; melting point 419.4°C; boiling point 907°C; specific gravity 7.133 (25°C); valence 2. See Table at element.

transitive verb zinced zinced or zincked, zinc·ing or zinck·ing, zincs or zincks

To coat or treat with zinc; galvanize.

Origin:

Origin: German Zink

Origin: , possibly from Zinke, spike (so called because it becomes jagged in the furnace)

Origin: , from Middle High German zinke

Origin: , from Old High German zinko

See zinc in Ologies

Zinc