Slags

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A refuse material left over after the process of smelting ore
2. the byproduct of metal refining that often contains impurities and can be used in construction
3. a term sometimes applied to a variety of waste substances resulting from industrial procedures

Etymology: The word "slags" is simply the plural of "slag," and the surprising thing is how literal its origin is: slag was originally the splinters knocked off metal by hammering. Its ancestor is tied to the verb meaning "to strike," the same root that gave English "slay," so the stuff left over from working iron was named for the blows that produced it. The word came into English by borrowing from Middle Low German "slagge" or "slaggen," meaning "slag" or "dross." Its deeper roots run through Old Saxon and Proto-Germanic, where a form combining the verb for striking with a diminutive suffix described small chips flying off under the hammer. Related forms appear in Dutch "slak," German "Schlacke," and Swedish "slagg," showing how widely the term spread across the Germanic languages.

Synonyms: scum, dross, residue, waste, refuse

Antonyms: ore, metal, pure substance, refined material