Zincier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Containing more zinc or having a stronger resemblance to the metal zinc than something else does
2. Having a greater amount of zinc in its makeup, or looking and behaving more like the bluish metal
3. More full of zinc, or more like that bluish-white metal in appearance or composition, than another thing

Etymology: "Zincier" is the comparative form of "zincy," an adjective meaning "containing zinc" or "resembling zinc." The base word "zinc" entered English in the early 1600s, when it was borrowed from German "Zink," the name metalworkers gave to the bluish metal they were beginning to isolate from ore. The German term itself is of uncertain origin, though it is often linked to "Zinke," meaning "prong" or "tooth," perhaps because of the spiky crystals the metal forms when it cools. "Zincy" follows the ordinary English pattern of adding "-y" to a noun to make an adjective describing its qualities, as in "stony" or "milky." The "-ier" ending is the regular comparative suffix, used for adjectives of this shape, so "zincier" means "more zincy," or richer in zinc. Because "zinc" is a technical term, both forms are rare and appear mainly in chemistry, metallurgy, and mineralogy.