enamel

CEFRC1

/ɪˈnæməl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The hard outer covering of a tooth.

  2. 02

    noun

    A hard glossy coating used on metal or pottery.

Examples

  • Tooth enamel is mostly composed of hydroxyapatite.

  • Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in your body.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A coating that dries to a hard, glossy finish.

  2. The hard covering on the exposed part of a tooth.

  3. An opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects.

More examples

In context

  • to enamel card paper; to enamel leather or cloth

  • Their plumed helmes are wrought with beaten golde, Their ſwords enameld, and about their neckes Hangs maſſie chaines of golde downe to the waſte, In euery part exceding braue and rich.

  • Against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The dentist applied a protective layer of blank to the damaged tooth.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English enamel, from Anglo-Norman enamailler, from en- (“in-”) + amailler (“to enamel”), variant of Old French esmailler (“to enamel”), from esmal (“enamel”), from Early Medieval Latin smaltum, from Frankish *smalt, from Proto-Germanic *smeltaną (“to melt, smelt”).