Spelter

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Zinc or a zinc-based alloy used for coating steel or making brass ; to join or fuse metal parts together using solder
2. Zinc as a commercial metal or in alloyed form for galvanizing purposes ; to connect metallic pieces by melting solder onto or between them
3. A zinc product employed in metallurgy and coating ; to unite metal components through the application of molten solder

Etymology: Spelter is the name for zinc, or for alloys made of zinc and other metals, and the trail leads back to a Dutch word for the same metal. Its likely source is Middle Dutch "speauter," and the two words are thought to be related to "pewter," the tin-based alloy, though that link is less certain. Metalworkers and merchants used the term for a metal that was traded in quantity long before it was understood as a distinct element. The uncertainty around the word's origin is part of its character. Scholars cannot pin down with confidence whether "speauter" was the direct ancestor or a relative that grew alongside the English term, so the connection to pewter is best treated as a possibility rather than a settled fact. What is clear is that the word belongs to the vocabulary of trade and industry, where zinc was valued for coating iron and brass, and "spelter" remained the ordinary commercial name for it in English.

Synonyms: zinc, spelter metal