Alloy Once Implied Contamination
An alloy is a mixture of metals. The word came from a French term for combining, and it long carried a suggestion of debasing something pure.
An alloy is a metal made by combining two or more elements. The word carried a moral edge for centuries: alloying gold with a cheaper metal was how coinage was debased, so *unalloyed* came to mean pure and untainted — which is why we speak of *unalloyed joy* and never of alloyed joy. Metallurgically, alloys are usually stronger than the pure metals in them.
- A metal mixture. *An aluminium alloy.*
- Verb, to mix. *Copper alloyed with tin.*
- Unalloyed — pure, complete. *Unalloyed pleasure.*
- Bronze — copper and tin. *A bronze axe head.*
- Steel — iron and carbon. *Stainless steel.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | alloy | A light alloy. |
| Plural | alloys | Aluminium alloys. |
| Verb | alloy | Alloy it with zinc. |
| Adjective | unalloyed | Unalloyed delight. |
| Related | amalgam | A dental amalgam. |
- The frame is an aluminium alloy.Materials.
- It was a success, but not unalloyed.The figurative use.
- Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.Chemistry.
Alloys that changed history
- Bronze — copper and tin, harder than either alone
- Brass — copper and zinc, easier to cast and work
- Steel — iron with a little carbon, transforming everything
- Stainless steel — steel with chromium, resisting corrosion
- Solder — a low-melting alloy that joins other metals
Old French *aloi*, from *aloier*, to combine, from Latin *alligare*, to bind to. English has used it since the 1300s, first of coinage.
Why do we say unalloyed joy?
Because alloying once meant diluting something pure with something cheaper. Unalloyed means unmixed and therefore complete.
Are alloys stronger than pure metals?
Usually yes. Mixing disrupts the regular crystal structure, which makes the metal harder to deform.