metallic

See also: metàl·lic

English

Alternative forms

• metallick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin metallicus, from metallum (“metal”), from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon). Equivalent to metal +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /məˈtæl.ɪk/, /mɪˈtæl.ɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ælɪk
• Hyphenation: me‧tal‧lic

Adjective

metallic (comparative more metallic, superlative most metallic)

1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of metal.
2. Made of or containing metal.
   • a. 1712, William King, “Rufinus: Or, The Favourite”, in The Works of the English Poets, volume XX, page 374:

     […] and, lo ! a palace towering ſeems, / With Parian pillars and metallic beams.

   • 1878, Sir Norman Lockyer, “On Dissociation”, in Studies in Spectrum Analysis, page 167:

     These chemical distinctions then, to which we have referred, are quite independent of physical condition. For instance, amongst the most metallic of the metals is a gas.

3. (of a sound) Harsh, as if coming from two metals striking one another.
   • 1839, Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, in Tales, London: Wiley & Putnam, published 1846, page 81:

     No sooner had these syllables passed my lips, than—as if a shield of brass had indeed, at the moment, fallen heavily upon a floor of silver—I became aware of a distinct, hollow, metallic and clangorous, yet apparently muffled reverberation.

4. (of a color) Having the appearance of being of polished metal.

Synonyms

• metalish (obsolete)
• metallical (obsolete)
• metallous

Derived terms

Prefixed forms

• bimetallic
• half-metallic
• heterometallic
• homometallic
• intermetallic
• monometallic
• multimetallic
• nanometallic
• nonmetallic (non-metallic)
• organometallic
• polymetallic
• pseudometallic
• radiometallic
• semimetallic
• submetallic
• trimetallic
• unmetallic

Other derivations

• Carolina metallic tiger beetle
• metallical
• metallically
• metallic bond
• metallic hydrogen
• metallicity
• metallicize
• metallicly
• metallicness
• metallic soap
• metallic waterproofing

 

Related terms

• metal

Translations

related to metal

• Catalan: metàl·lic (ca)
• Czech: kovový (cs)
• Finnish: metallinen (fi)
• French: métallique (fr)
• Galician: metálico (gl)
• German: metallisch (de)
• Greek: μεταλλικός (el) (metallikós)
• Hungarian: fémes (hu)
• Irish: miotalach
• Italian: metallico (it)
• Japanese: メタリック (ja) (metarikku)
• Latin: metallicus
• Malay: logam (ms)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: metallisk

  Nynorsk: metallisk

• Occitan: metallic (oc)
• Polish: metalowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: metálico (pt)
• Spanish: metálico (es)
• Tagalog: metalhin
• Ukrainian: металічний (metaličnyj), металевий (uk) (metalevyj)

made of metal

• Asturian: metálicu (ast)
• Catalan: metàl·lic (ca)
• Czech: kovový (cs) m
• Esperanto: metala
• Finnish: metallinen (fi)
• French: métalisé, métallique (fr)
• Galician: metálico (gl)
• German: metallisch (de)
• Greek: μεταλλικός (el) (metallikós), μετάλλινος (el) (metállinos)
• Hebrew: מתכתי
• Irish: miotalach
• Lithuanian: metalinis
• Malay: logam (ms)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: metallisk

  Nynorsk: metallisk

• Occitan: metallic (oc)
• Pashto: زرین (zarin) (golden, metallic)
• Polish: metalowy (pl)
• Portuguese: metálico (pt)
• Russian: металли́ческий (ru) (metallíčeskij)
• Slovak: kovový (sk)
• Slovene: kovinski (sl)
• Spanish: metálico (es), metalífero (es)
• Tagalog: metalhin
• Telugu: లోహ (lōha)
• Ukrainian: металевий (uk) (metalevyj)
• Yoruba: irin

(of a sound) harsh, as if coming from two metals striking one another

(of a color) having the appearance of being of polished metal

• Galician: metalizado m, metalizada f
• Portuguese: metalizado m, metalizada f
• Spanish: metalizado (es)

Noun

metallic (plural metallics)

1. A metallic color.
   • 2007 May 24, Karin Nelson, “Keeping Time in Cool Comfort”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     As Robert Clergerie, whose unisex Popée shoe comes in an array of pastels and eye-popping metallics, explained the attraction, “It gives manhood to women.”

Anagrams

• call time

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin metallicus. Attested from the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

metallic m (feminine singular metallica, masculine plural metallics, feminine plural metallicas)

1. metallic

Related terms

• metal

Further reading

• Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians‎^[2], 2 edition, →ISBN, page 644.