electrum

American  

[ih-lek-truhm] / ɪˈlɛk trəm /

noun

1. an amber-colored alloy of gold and silver used in ancient times.

2. an alloy composed of about 50 percent copper, 30 percent nickel, and 20 percent zinc.

3. German silver; nickel silver.

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electrum British  

/ ɪˈlɛktrəm /

noun

1. an alloy of gold (55–88 per cent) and silver used for jewellery and ornaments

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Etymology

Origin of electrum

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek ḗlektron amber, alloy of gold and silver

Example Sentences

This song has an axis of electrum, chile.

From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2022

Before Croesus the Greeks used coins of a gold and silver alloy called electrum.

From Time Magazine Archive

Responsible banking opinion everywhere last week treated electrum talk as September madness.

From Time Magazine Archive

From this electrum he supposed that valuable amulets and magic mirrors could be prepared.

From Bygone Beliefs: being a series of excursions in the byways of thought by Redgrove, H. Stanley (Herbert Stanley)

A house and pyramid were built for him; a garden was laid out for him with a lake and a kiosk, and a golden statue with a robe of electrum was set up in it.

From Patriarchal Palestine by Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)