Enamel Meaning
/ɪˈnæməl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects.
nounA coating that dries to a hard, glossy finish.
Sentence Examples
Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in your body.
Tooth enamel is mostly composed of hydroxyapatite.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The dentist applied a protective layer of ____ to the damaged tooth.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Tooth ____ is the hardest and most mineralized substance in the body.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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"
— 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
"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."
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
"Oft he [the serpent] bowed / His turret crest and sleek enamelled neck."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The dentist applied a protective layer of ____ to the damaged tooth.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Tooth ____ is the hardest and most mineralized substance in the body.