Enamel

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪˈnæmÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -æmÉ™l

Origin

From Anglo-Norman enamailler, from en- ("in-")+ amailler ("to enamel"), variant of Old French esmailler ("to enamel"), from esmal ("enamel"), from Frankish *smalt, from Proto-Germanic *smaltjan ("to smelt"). Compare German schmelzen, Danish smelte ("to melt").

Full definition of enamel

Noun

1. An opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects.
2. A coating that dries to a hard, glossy finish.
3. The hard covering on the exposed part of a tooth.

Verb

1. (transitive) To coat or decorate with enamel.
2. (transitive) To variegate with colours, as if with enamel.
• MiltonOft he serpent bowed
  His turret crest and sleek enamelled neck.
3. (transitive) To form a glossy surface like enamel upon.to enamel card paper; to enamel leather or cloth
4. (transitive) To disguise with cosmetics, as a woman's complexion.

Derived terms

• enamelware
• porcelain enamel
• tooth enamel
• vitreous enamel

Anagrams

• manele, melena