English

Noun

electrum ‎(countable and uncountable, plural electrums)

1. (obsolete) Amber.
2. An alloy of gold and silver, used by the ancients; now specifically a natural alloy with between 20 and 50 per cent silver.
   • 1995, Paul T. Craddock, Early Metal Mining and Production, page 111:

     Native gold almost always contains silver in amounts varying widely between 5 and 50 per cent. This natural alloy is known as electrum although in classical antiquity where the word originated it seems to have been used for an artificial alloy of the two metals.

   • 2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2004, p. 45:

     A natural alloy containing more than 20 per cent silver is called electrum, and was regarded by the ancients as a different metal from gold.

3. German silver plate.

Translations

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον ‎(ḗlektron).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /eːˈlek.trum/, [eːˈɫɛk.trũ]

Noun

ēlectrum n ‎(genitive ēlectrī); second declension

1. amber
2. electrum (alloy of gold and silver)
3. (physics) electron

Inflection

Second declension.

References

• electrum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• electrum in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ELECTRUM in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “electrum”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• electrum in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia
• electrum in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• electrum in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin