metal

Etymology

From Middle English metal, a borrowing from Old French metal, from Latin metallum (“metal, mine, quarry, mineral”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon, “mine, quarry, metal”).

noun

1. (heading) Chemical elements or alloys, and the mines where their ores come from.
   1. Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms; generally shiny, somewhat malleable and hard, often a conductor of heat and electricity.
      Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. 2014-04-21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884
   2. Any material with similar physical properties, such as an alloy.
   3. (astronomy) An element which was not directly created after the Big Bang but instead formed through nuclear reactions; any element other than hydrogen and helium.
      Most of the matter in stars is hydrogen and helium, and the metals (including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and so on) were cooked up inside stars. 2003, Michael A. Seeds, Astronomy: The Solar System and Beyond, Thomson Brooks/Cole
      2008, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Geochemical Society, Oxygen in the solar system, Mineralogical Society of Amer →ISBN Thus, for the remaining elements, including oxygen, the solid phase appears to be important. In fact, at a metallicity of Z=0.02, and with a gas-to-dust ratio of 100, about half of the metals — including oxygen — are contained in the solid phase.
      Metals include oxygen and carbon which means that water and organic molecules would have been abundant in the early universe, perhaps paving the way for the emergence of life within a couple of billion years of the Big Bang. 2015, Alan Longstaff, Astrobiology: An Introduction, CRC Press, page 350
   4. Crushed rock, stones etc. used to make a road.
      One of the most important tasks was the metalling of the roads, and the dumping of metal beside them in parts where it was impossible to lay it, in order that work might commence with the assault. The surface of the roads was good, but only because the Division had been holding a front so wide, which made the traffic upon them relatively light. 1922, Falls Cyril, The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division, M'Caw, Stevenson and Orr, Ltd
   5. (mining) The ore from which a metal is derived.
   6. (obsolete) A mine from which ores are taken.
2. (heraldry) A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent (white or silver) and or (gold).
3. Molten glass that is to be blown or moulded to form objects.
4. (music) A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, etc.) characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars.
5. (figurative, archaic) The substance that constitutes something or someone; matter; hence, character or temper.
6. The effective power or calibre of guns carried by a vessel of war.
7. (UK, in the plural) The rails of a railway.
8. (informal, travel, aviation) The actual airline operating a flight, rather than any of the codeshare operators.
   We have American Airlines tickets, but it's on British Airways metal.

adj

1. (music) Characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars.
2. Having the emotional or social characteristics associated with metal music; brash, bold, frank, unyielding, etc.
   The beast will destroy everything in his path With this song on the upcoming brawl It sure is a long one and tough to pronounce but It's the most metal title of all 2008, Lich King, “Attack of the Wrath of the War of the Death of the Strike of the Sword of the Blood of the Beast”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught
   Top tip: Bowling gloves are for sissies, although they look metal as fuck. 2012 August, “Tested Bowling Balls”, in Front, number 171, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40

verb

1. To make a road using crushed rock, stones etc.