enamel

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, General American) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnæməl/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æməl

Etymology 1

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”).

Noun

enamel (countable and uncountable, plural enamels)

1. An opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects.
2. A coating that dries to a hard, glossy finish.
4. The hard covering on the exposed part of a tooth.
5. A cosmetic intended to give the appearance of a smooth and beautiful complexion.

Derived terms

• cervical enamel
• enamel paper
• enamelware
• nail enamel
• paper enamel
• porcelain enamel
• stove enamel
• tooth enamel
• vitreous enamel

 

Translations

opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects

• Armenian: արծնապակի (hy) (arcnapaki)
• Bulgarian: емайл (bg) m (emajl)
• Catalan: esmalt (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 琺瑯／珐琅 (faat³ long⁴)

  Mandarin: 琺瑯／珐琅 (fàláng)

• Czech: smalt (cs) m
• Danish: emalje c
• Esperanto: emajlo
• Finnish: emali (fi)
• French: émail (fr) m, glaçure (fr) f
• Galician: esmalte m
• German: Email (de) n, Emaille (de) f
• Greek: έγκαυστον n (égkafston), σμάλτο (el) n (smálto) (colloquial), εμαγιέ (el) n (emagié) (colloquial)
• Hungarian: zománc (hu)
• Icelandic: smelt n
• Ido: emalio (io)
• Irish: cruan (ga) m, amáille f (literary), cruan (ga) m
• Italian: smalto (it) m, lacca (it) f
• Japanese: 琺瑯 (ja) (ほうろう, hōrō)
• Manchu: ᡶᠠᠯᠠᠰᡠ (falasu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: emalje m

  Nynorsk: emalje m

• Persian: مینا (fa) (minâ)
• Polish: emalia (pl) f
• Portuguese: esmalte (pt) m
• Romanian: smalț (ro) n
• Russian: эма́ль (ru) f (emálʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cruan m, geiltrigeadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ѐмајл m, гле̏ђ f

  Roman: èmajl (sh), glȅđ (sh)

• Sicilian: smartu, lacca
• Slovak: smalt
• Spanish: esmalte (es) m, enlozado (es)
• Swedish: emalj (sv) c
• Turkish: emaye (tr)
• Ukrainian: ема́ль f (emálʹ)
• Yiddish: עמאַל f (emal), עמאַליע f (emalye)

coating that dries to a hard, glossy finish

• Bulgarian: глеч (bg) f (gleč)
• Finnish: emali (fi)
• French: émail (fr) m
• Ido: emalio (io)
• Polish: emalia (pl) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ѐмајл m, гле̏ђ f

  Roman: èmajl (sh), glȅđ (sh)

• Sicilian: smartatu
• Spanish: esmaltado (es) m, esmalte (es) m
• Ukrainian: ема́ль f (emálʹ)

covering on the tooth

• Arabic: مِينَاء f (mīnāʔ)

  Egyptian Arabic: مينا f (minaa)

• Armenian: էմալ (hy) (ēmal)
• Bulgarian: емайл (bg) m (emajl)
• Catalan: esmalt (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 琺瑯質／珐琅质 (faat³ long⁴ zat¹)

  Mandarin: 琺瑯質／珐琅质 (fàlángzhì)

• Czech: sklovina f
• Danish: emalje c
• Esperanto: emajlo
• Finnish: kiille (fi), hammaskiille (fi)
• French: émail (fr) m
• German: Zahnschmelz (de) m, Schmelz (de) m
• Greek: αδαμαντίνη (el) f (adamantíni)
• Hungarian: fogzománc (hu)
• Icelandic: glerungur (is) m
• Ido: emalio (io)
• Italian: smalto (it) m
• Japanese: 琺瑯質 (ほうろうしつ, hōrōshitsu), エナメル質 (エナメルしつ, enamerushitsu)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: mîna (ku) f

• Macedonian: глеѓ f (gleǵ)
• Maori: kirimārō
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: emalje m

  Nynorsk: emalje m

• Persian: مینا (fa) (minâ)
• Polish: szkliwo (pl) m
• Portuguese: esmalte (pt) m
• Romanian: smalț (ro) n
• Russian: эма́ль (ru) f (emálʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ца̏клина f, гле̏ђ f

  Roman: cȁklina (sh) f, glȅđ (sh) f

• Sicilian: smartu
• Slovak: sklovina
• Spanish: esmalte (es) m
• Swedish: emalj (sv) c, tandemalj (sv) c
• Turkish: mine (tr)
• Ukrainian: ема́ль f (emálʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} emajlo
• French: ^{(please verify)} émail (fr) m
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} אמייל
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} email

Etymology 2

From Middle English enamelen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

enamel (third-person singular simple present enamels, present participle (US) enameling or (UK) enamelling, simple past and past participle (US) enameled or (UK) enamelled)

1. (transitive) To coat or decorate with enamel.
   • c. 1587–1588, [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:

     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. (transitive) To variegate with colours, as if with enamel.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Oft he [the serpent] bowed / His turret crest and sleek enamelled neck.

3. (transitive) To form a glossy surface like enamel upon.

   to enamel card paper; to enamel leather or cloth

4. (transitive) To disguise with cosmetics, as a woman's complexion.

Translations

to coat with enamel

• Armenian: արծնել (hy) (arcnel), արծնապատել (hy) (arcnapatel)
• Bulgarian: емайлирам (bg) (emajliram)
• Catalan: esmaltar (ca)
• Esperanto: emajli
• Finnish: emaloida (fi)
• French: émailler (fr)
• German: emaillieren (de), schmalten (de)
• Greek: βερνικώνω (el) (vernikóno), επισμαλτώνω (el) (epismaltóno)
• Hebrew: זיגג (zigég)
• Icelandic: lakka
• Ido: emaliizar (io)
• Interlingua: emailliar
• Irish: cruan (ga) m
• Italian: smaltare (it)
• Portuguese: esmaltar (pt)
• Russian: эмалирова́ть (ru) (emalirovátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: емајли́рати, глеђосати

  Roman: emajlírati (sh), gleđosati (sh)

• Sicilian: smartari
• Slovak: smaltovať
• Spanish: esmaltar (es)
• Swedish: emaljera (sv)
• Turkish: sırlamak (tr), emaylamak (tr)

References

• “enamel”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “enamel”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• Leeman, Manele, Melena, manele, melena