metallic English · revision 39484

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=?a1425, translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie|origins=grc μέταλλον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /mɪˈtæl.ɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /məˈtæl.ɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|metallicus|t=of metal; of mines]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline) from [[grc|μεταλλικός|tr=metallikós|t=of mines]], which in Hellenistic Greek also meant "of metal",^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|grc|μέταλλον|tr=métallon|t=mine; metal, ore]], the source of [[metal]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) Merriam-Webster also allows a borrowing through [[fr|métallique]], recorded in French from about 1500.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of or relating to metal, containing metal, or having the nature of a metal: ?a1425, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie''.^(OED 2026) Etymonline glosses the early 15th-century use as "of metal, made from metal".^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word stayed close to its first meaning, but spread from substances to objects made of metal (1712) and to money in coin as opposed to paper (1790, in Burke, as in ''metallic currency'').^(OED 2026) For a time (1649–1834) it could also mean relating to mining, a sense nearer the Greek.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) In chemistry, by 1797 (1741 in the OED), it described a metal in its pure, uncombined state.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) From the 1790s it was used of things that only resemble metal: a lustre or colour (1794), a taste (1800) and, in Laennec's medicine and later generally, a sharp, ringing or harsh sound or voice (1821).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) As a noun it has meant a substance or article containing metal since 1563, and since 1976 a metallic paint or finish, as on a car.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * ?a1425 – of or relating to metal.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1563 – noun, a substance containing metal; usually plural.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1649 – relating to mining (obsolete after 1834).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * 1712 – made of metal.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1741 – of a metal, chemically uncombined.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates this use by 1797.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1790 – consisting of coin rather than paper money.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1794 – having the lustre or colour of metal.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1800 – of a taste, like metal.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1821 – of a sound, sharp and ringing.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1976 – noun, a metallic paint or finish.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, made of, or containing [[metal]]: ''metallic components''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Like metal in appearance, especially having a shiny [[lustre]]: ''a coat in metallic blue''.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of a sound: sharp and ringing, like metal being struck; of a voice, harsh.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a taste: unpleasant, like that of metal.^(OED 2026)

+ # (chemistry) Of a metal: existing in the free, uncombined state.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A metallic paint or finish, or a fabric or yarn made of or coated with metal.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[metallically]]

+ * [[bimetallic]]

+ * [[intermetallic]]

+ * [[monometallic]]

+ * [[multimetallic]]

+ * [[organometallic]]

+ * [[semimetallic]]

+ * [[submetallic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[metal]]

+ * [[metallurgy]]

+ * [[mettle]]

+ * [[medal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}