Enamel
noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects. countable, uncountable
- 2 any smooth glossy coating that resembles ceramic glaze wordnet
- 3 A coating that dries to a hard, glossy finish. countable, uncountable
- 4 a paint that dries to a hard glossy finish wordnet
- 5 The hard covering on the exposed part of a tooth. countable, uncountable
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- 6 hard white substance covering the crown of a tooth wordnet
- 7 A cosmetic intended to give the appearance of a smooth and beautiful complexion. countable, uncountable
- 8 a colored glassy compound (opaque or partially opaque) that is fused to the surface of metal or glass or pottery for decoration or protection wordnet
- 1 To coat or decorate with enamel. transitive
"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."
- 2 coat, inlay, or surface with enamel wordnet
- 3 To variegate with colours, as if with enamel. transitive
"Oft he [the serpent] bowed / His turret crest and sleek enamelled neck."
- 4 To form a glossy surface like enamel upon. transitive
"to enamel card paper; to enamel leather or cloth"
- 5 To disguise with cosmetics, as a woman's complexion. transitive
Example
More examples"Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in your body."
Etymology
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”).
From Middle English enamelen, from the noun (see above).
Related phrases
More for "enamel"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.