enamel

C2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ɪˈnæməl/ UK /ɪˈnæməl/ See IPA manual

Freq #32568

Meanings

1

noun
the hard, white outer covering of the crown of a tooth

Acidic drinks can gradually damage tooth enamel.
2

noun
a glassy decorative or protective coating fused onto metal, glass, or pottery

The copper bowl was decorated with blue enamel.
3

noun
a paint that dries to form a hard, smooth, glossy surface

They coated the cabinet with white enamel.
4

verb
to coat, decorate, or protect a surface with enamel

The artisan enamelled the silver pendant in vivid green.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the hard, white outer... tooth enamel

2 noun · a glassy decorative or... glaze

3 noun · a paint that dries to form... enamel paintgloss paint

4 verb · to coat, decorate, or... glaze coat

More coating

Word family

Forms enamelled

Derived forms enamelerenamellerenamelistenamelware

Related forms glazesmaltsmelt

Common collocations

tooth enamel Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English enamel and Anglo-Norman enamailler, related to Old French esmailler, 'to enamel.' The French forms derive from esmal, 'enamel,' through Medieval Latin smaltum from a Germanic root meaning 'to melt or smelt,' reflecting how glassy enamel is fused by heat.

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# enamel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪˈnæməl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪˈnæməl/
**Frequency rank:** 32568

## Meanings
1. the hard, white outer covering of the crown of a tooth
2. a glassy decorative or protective coating fused onto metal, glass, or pottery
3. a paint that dries to form a hard, smooth, glossy surface
4. to coat, decorate, or protect a surface with enamel

## Examples
- Acidic drinks can gradually damage tooth enamel.
- The copper bowl was decorated with blue enamel.
- They coated the cabinet with white enamel.
- The artisan enamelled the silver pendant in vivid green.

## Synonyms
- glaze
- coating
- gloss paint

## Derived Forms
- enameler
- enameller
- enamelist
- enamelware

## Related Forms
- glaze
- smalt
- smelt

## Etymology
From Middle English enamel and Anglo-Norman enamailler, related to Old French esmailler, 'to enamel.' The French forms derive from esmal, 'enamel,' through Medieval Latin smaltum from a Germanic root meaning 'to melt or smelt,' reflecting how glassy enamel is fused by heat.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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