Nickel Means Devil's Copper
Nickel is a silvery metal. German miners named it after a goblin, because the ore promised copper and delivered none.
Nickel is a hard silvery metal used in alloys and coinage. Its name is a curse: German miners called the ore *Kupfernickel*, devil's copper, because it looked like copper ore, yielded none, and released poisonous arsenic fumes when smelted. Axel Cronstedt isolated the metal in 1751 and kept the second half of the insult.
- A silvery metal. *Nickel plating.*
- A five-cent coin (American). *A nickel and a dime.*
- Nickel-plated — coated in nickel. *Nickel-plated fittings.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | nickel | Pure nickel. |
| Symbol | Ni | Element Ni. |
| Adjective | nickel | Nickel alloy. |
| Related | cupronickel | Cupronickel coins. |
| Related | cobalt | Cobalt blue. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Kupfernickel means devil's copper.German mining slang.
- Stainless steel usually contains nickel.Along with chromium.
- Nickel allergy is common.Especially from jewellery.
Nickel facts
- Magnetic — one of only a few metals magnetic at room temperature
- Stainless steel — most grades contain nickel for corrosion resistance
- Coinage — cupronickel is the standard modern coin alloy
- Allergy — one of the most common contact allergens
- Earth's core — largely iron and nickel
From German *Kupfernickel*, devil's copper, from *Nickel*, a goblin. Isolated by Axel Cronstedt in 1751.
Why is it called nickel?
From a German miners' name meaning devil's copper, given to an ore that looked valuable and produced nothing but toxic fumes.
Are cobalt and nickel similar cases?
Yes. Both were named by frustrated German miners after mischievous spirits blamed for worthless ore.