Spelters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Impure commercial zinc metal, often cast into ingots for industrial use ; a hard solder made from a zinc or brass alloy for joining metal parts
2. Crude zinc sold for manufacturing purposes ; a brazing solder composed of a zinc or copper alloy used to bond metals
3. Commercial grade zinc used in industry ; an alloy solder based on zinc or brass that fuses metal pieces together

Etymology: "Spelters" is the plural of "spelter", a trade name for crude, unrefined zinc metal, sold in ingots and slabs rather than as a finished product. The singular form is the word's base, so the plural simply refers to the metal in bulk or to separate lots of it. The word probably comes from Middle Dutch "speauter", and it may be related to "pewter", the tin-lead alloy that English has used for centuries. The sources do not settle the link beyond calling the connection possible, so the exact path from Dutch to English remains uncertain. What is clear is that the term belonged to the metal trade, where zinc was known long before its chemistry was well understood.

Synonyms: zinc