aluminiumn.adj.
/ˌal(j)ᵿˈmɪnɪəm/, U.S. /ˌæləˈmɪniəm/ A. n.
1. A silvery-grey metallic chemical element, atomic number 13, which is comparatively light in weight, strong, and corrosion-resistant, and is widely used (esp. in the form of alloys) in manufacturing and construction. Symbol Al.Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust and is obtained mainly from bauxite. It is a constituent of many rocks in the form of aluminosilicates. Major uses for aluminium metal include aircraft and vehicle bodywork, frames and other structural parts, containers, household appliances, utensils, etc. Aluminium powder is used in paint and pyrotechnics (cf. thermite n.).
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > aluminium > [noun]
alumium1808
aluminium1811
aluminum1812
Al1814
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [noun] > aluminium
aluminium1811
1811 Crit. Rev. Jan. 9 The result of this experiment is not wholly decisive as to the existence of what might be called aluminium and glucinium.
1812 Q. Rev. 8 72 Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound.
1835 R. D. Hoblyn Dict. Terms Med. & Collateral Sci. 6 Aluminium, the metallic base of alumina.
1860 M. Faraday Lect. Forces Matter 175 Aluminium is 2½ times heavier than water.
1869 Eng. Mech. 14 May 187/3 Some Belgian manufacturer has just had a bell cast of aluminium.
1876 J. C. Geikie Life in Woods xxv. 399 Science got the beautiful metal aluminium out of the clay which ignorance trod under foot.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxiv. 657 When aluminium becomes oxidised, the oxide forms a continuous and impermeable insulating film or varnish on the surface of the metal.
1952 Times 5 June 7/6 Aluminium has been used in the construction of the ship's two funnels.
1989 New Scientist 21 Jan. 58/2 Patients with senile dementia have unusually high amounts of aluminium in plaques in the brain.
2000 C. Hanger World Food: Morocco 73 In tea houses, aluminium is the norm. These humble aluminium teapots can be bought in souqs for a few dirham.
2. The metallic silvery-grey colour of aluminium, esp. as a fashion colour.
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1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 668 Colours for Illuminating... Tube of Enamel White, Gold Shell, Aluminium Shell.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 6 Mar. 15/1 Some of them have stripes of gold, silver, or aluminium.
1997 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 23 Apr. 8 Sexy dresses in sophisticated shades of aluminium, silver, or pewter grey matte.
2010 Mirror (Nexis) 1 Jan. 54 Peugeot has added a couple of engine options... You've also got the choice of three new colours: Aluminium, Shark Grey and Morrocan Red [sic].
B. adj.
attributive. Made of aluminium or an aluminium-based alloy.
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > aluminium > [adjective]
aluminic1830
aluminium1855
alumic1869
aluminum1894
1855 Chemist 2 10 The aluminium castings from which I extracted the silicium contained more than 10 per cent.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xvi. 249 I feel like I could juggle with the Pyramids of Egypt, same as conjurors do with aluminium balls.
1907 Brit. Birds 1 58 The plan of marking birds by an aluminium ring round the leg has often been tried, but never in a really systematic fashion.
1930 Engineering 21 Mar. 393/1 The panels are illuminated from behind by a standard 40-watt ‘pearl’ lamp backed by aluminium reflectors.
1940 Jrnl. Home Econ. 32 693/1 A 2-quart heavy aluminium pan with flexible steel top which fits tightly.
1961 Sunset Feb. 39/1 Campers in Western parks have witnessed a steady invasion of shiny aluminium caravans.
1975 Oxf. Jrnl. 31 Jan. 9 (advt.) Patio doors... Their slim aluminium frames won't warp or need painting.
1988 D. French Working (1991) viii. 268 All the white sailors were chugalugging beer, occasionally stopping to crush an aluminium can with their bare hands.
1998 Automotive Engineer Mar. 51/1 The most important development..has been the use of aluminium sheet in space frame construction.
2003 Mountain, Trek & Trav. Catal. (Ellis Brigham) Autumn 117/2 Ultra-light, non-stick aluminium cookware offering quick even heating.
Compounds
C1. attributive.
a. Of or relating to aluminium or its production, as aluminium alloy, aluminium compound, aluminium industry, aluminium paint, aluminium powder, aluminium salt, aluminium smelting, etc.
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1854 Chem. Gaz. 2 Oct. 364 The aluminium bath is prepared by taking 2 parts by weight of chloride of aluminium, and adding to it 1 part of dry pulverized chloride of sodium.
1863 H. Watts Dict. Chem. I. 154 (heading) General Characters and Reactions of Aluminium-compounds.
1888 Athenæum 21 July 102/2 The trivalence of the metals of the aluminium group.
1910 Blackwood's Mag. July 4 In this airship, and in the Barrow ship, another aluminium alloy called duralumin is employed.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station 10 The envelope was ‘doped’ with aluminium paint on its top side.
1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xxvi. 735 Ammonal is an explosive containing ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder.
1960 Archery (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 6/2 Although good wooden arrows can still be obtained..aluminium alloy is now the most generally used material.
1978 G. C. Hill & J. S. Holman Chem. in Context xv. 226 When aluminium salts are added to water, Al3+ ions are immediately attracted to the negative end of polar water molecules forming the hexaaquaaluminium( iii) ion, [Al(H2O)6]3+.
1998 Textile Horizons July–Aug. 18/1 New..fabrics for use in the manufacture of protective clothing for workers in aluminium smelting.
2001 Ecologist May 42/2 Fluoride is a waste product from the aluminium industry.
b. Chemistry. In the names of compounds of aluminium, as aluminium fluoride, aluminium nitride, aluminium phosphate, aluminium silicate, etc.
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1868 T. Wood Notes on Metals 95 In England at Whitby, and at Glasgow, a bituminous shale, which contains iron disulphide (pyrites) (FeS2) and aluminium silicate, is slowly roasted.
1869 J. H. Pepper Cyclopædic Sci. Simplified 577 Fluorine is also contained in the mineral termed cryolite (3NaF, AlF3), a double salt of sodium and aluminium fluoride, and an important source of the metal aluminium.
1890 R. A. Witthaus Med. Student's Man. Chem. (ed. 3) ii. 158 Certain organic compounds, such as aluminium acetylacetonate,..seem to contain single, trivalent atoms of the metal.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Alumina cream, freshly precipitated aluminium hydrate held in suspension in water.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxix. 514 Aluminium silicate and the alumino-silicates are most easily represented as ‘aluminyl’ compounds containing the univalent group —AlO.
1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xvi. 385 Aluminium nitride, AlN, is made by heating aluminium oxide, mixed with carbon, in the presence of nitrogen.
1946 L. F. Fieser et al. in Industr. & Engin. Chem. Aug. 769/1 A combination of aluminium naphthenate with..‘aluminum palmitate’ could be easily incorporated into gasoline to form a promising gel, and we termed this..combination a Napalm gel.
1967 I. L. Finar Org. Chem. (ed. 5) I. vii. 166 Dimethyl ether (methyl ether) is prepared industrially by passing methanol vapour at 350–400°..over aluminium phosphate as a catalyst.
1993 E. Harland Eco-Renovation ii. 137 Additives such as chlorine and aluminium nitrate that are designed to kill bacteria and settle contaminants.
2010 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 7 Dec. 22 Table salt is almost pure sodium chloride and has added aluminium silicate to make it pour.
C2. Forming parasynthetic adjectives, as aluminium-framed, aluminium-hulled, aluminium-sheathed, etc.
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1898 C. Bright Submarine Telegraphs v. 507 (heading) Light (aluminium sheathed) cables.
1937 Financial Times 12 Sept. 10/7 The aluminium framed panels..will be available in four standard sizes.
1961 M. G. Say Electr. Engineer's Ref. Bk. (ed. 10) ii. 77 Alternatively, aluminium-sheathed cables may be used or, for low-power and lighting circuits, mineral-insulated cables.
1975 P. Vergo Art in Vienna 1898–1918 iii. 103 The external basement walls were faced with granite slabs held in place by aluminium-headed bolts.
1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) iii. 188/2 Modern aluminium-framed and uPVC plastic doors can be bought in standard sizes, complete with double glazing and fitments.
2009 New Yorker 6 Apr. 55/1 In 1997 he had placed third in..a Los Angeles-to-Hawaii sailing race, using an aluminium-hulled catamaran that he designed.
C3.
aluminium brass n. a corrosion-resistant brass containing about 73–6 per cent copper, 22–23.5 per cent zinc, and 2–3.5 per cent aluminium.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > alloy > [noun] > aluminium alloys
aluminium bronze1856
aluminide1859
aluminum bronze1860
minargent1869
aluminum brass1881
aluminium brass1886
romanium1897
magnalium1900
Duralumin1910
silumin1922
Alclad1927
dural1937
1886 Chambers's Jrnl. 23 Oct. 688/1 They exhibited screws of aluminium brass; knives with blades of aluminium silver, and handles of aluminium bronze; together with a number of other manufactured articles.
1959 Engineering 20 Feb. 250/1 The heat transmission properties of aluminium brass are good, and the material is remarkably resistant to corrosion.
2008 G. F. Hundy et al. Refrigeration & Air Conditioning (ed. 4) vi. 78 Materials can be selected for the application and refrigerant, but all mild steel is common for fresh water, with cupronickel or aluminium brass tubes for salt water.
aluminium bronze n. any of several alloys of copper and aluminium (typically containing 5–11 per cent aluminium, with varying amounts of iron, nickel, manganese, and other elements), which exhibit increased strength and resistance to corrosion in comparison with other forms of bronze.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > alloy > [noun] > aluminium alloys
aluminium bronze1856
aluminide1859
aluminum bronze1860
minargent1869
aluminum brass1881
aluminium brass1886
romanium1897
magnalium1900
Duralumin1910
silumin1922
Alclad1927
dural1937
1856 Chem. Gaz. 15 Dec. 463 The aluminium bronze already mentioned unites with the property of being forged when hot, that of great inalterability in presence of hydrosulphate of ammonia.
a1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 70/2 The uses to which aluminium bronze is applicable are various... For certain parts, such as journals of engines..it has proved itself superior to all other metals.
1958 A. D. Merriman Dict. Metall. 8/1 Aluminium Bronze, this is the name conferred on a series of copper-aluminium alloys which may or may not also contain additions of iron, manganese, nickel, tin and zinc... It has been used for making imitation gold cigarette cases and trinkets.
2007 Stamp & Coin Mart Jan. 96/3 Two of the coins are ground-breaking in numismatic technology. The aluminium-bronze dollar reproduces in full colour a scene from the film.
aluminium chloride n. Chemistry a white solid which fumes in moist air and reacts violently with water, and is widely used as a catalyst, esp. to promote alkylation or acylation by the Friedel-Crafts reaction.Formula: AlCl3; in liquid form, it exists as a dimer, Al2Cl6. Aluminium chloride is often contaminated with trace amounts of iron trichloride which can make it appear yellow.
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1865 Chem. News 27 Jan. 42/1 He [sc. Gmelin] would use the requisite prefix, even though the metal were incapable of forming another oxide. Thus, ‘aluminic chloride’ was a better expression than ‘aluminium chloride’.
1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) i. 43 Attempts to crack the higher oil by catalytic agents, such as aluminium chloride, have been tried.
1978 G. C. Hill & J. S. Holman Chem. in Context xxvii. 432 Ethene and benzene undergo a Friedel-Crafts reaction in the presence of hydrogen chloride and aluminium chloride, to form ethylbenzene.
2009 Sun (Nexis) 6 Aug. 45 If you sweat so much you need buckets instead of shoes, try a strong antiperspirant like aluminium chloride.
aluminium foil n. aluminium in the form of thin flexible sheets which can be easily torn, used esp. for wrapping or covering food.
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the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > food wrapper
aluminium foil1863
foil1946
kitchen foil1948
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [noun] > aluminium > aluminium foil
aluminum foil1858
aluminium foil1863
alfoil1937
kitchen foil1948
1863 H. Watts Dict. Chem. I. 156 If the aluminium foil is not very thick, it becomes amalgamated throughout, and very brittle.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 71 Aluminium foil is easily ignited and gives no smoke.
1962 House & Garden Jan. 54/2 2 pieces of aluminium foil to cover breasts of chicken.
1999 New Scientist 20 Nov. 12/1 Dragon chasers heat up their heroin then inhale the fumes through a straw made of aluminium foil.
aluminium hydroxide n. Chemistry a white powder obtained chiefly from bauxite and used in the production of other aluminium compounds, as a fire retardant, and medicinally as an antacid; also called alumina trihydrate.Formula: Al(OH)3.
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > aluminium > [noun] > compounds
argil1530
alumine1788
alumina1790
aluminide1859
aluminium oxide1868
aluminum oxide1869
aluminium hydroxide1871
aluminum hydroxide1878
thermite1900
1871 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. (new ed.) xvii. 188 The hydroxides..may be represented as six molecules of water in which half of the hydrogen is replaced by a hexad group, thus: Aluminium hydroxide..(or Hydrate of Alumina).
1934 Discovery June 162/2 It [sc. Alucol, a patent medicine] was aluminium hydroxide, and was given in doses of 1 grm. from three to six times a day.
2004 J. Emsley Vanity, Vitality, & Virility (2006) v. 174 A voluminous insoluble precipitate of aluminium hydroxide and calcium sulfate..traps dirt and bacteria as it settles out of solution, leaving the water crystal clear.
aluminium oxide n. = alumina n.
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > aluminium > [noun] > compounds
argil1530
alumine1788
alumina1790
aluminide1859
aluminium oxide1868
aluminum oxide1869
aluminium hydroxide1871
aluminum hydroxide1878
thermite1900
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) ii. 376 Aluminium oxide. Alumina, Al2O3.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Mar. 11/2 A new process for obtaining pure aluminium from aluminium oxide or broken corundum.
1936 R. S. Glasgow Princ. Radio Engin. iii. 73 A thin film of aluminium oxide forms on the positive plate which will gradually insulate the plate from the solution.
2001 P. Ball Bright Earth ii. 34 The host material of rubies and emeralds—aluminium oxide, or corundum—becomes blue sapphire when laced instead with iron and titanium.
aluminium smelter n. a factory for producing aluminium metal from its ore, typically by electrolysis of molten alumina; (also) a company, etc., involved in smelting aluminium.
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1914 Rev. Mining Operations S. Austral. No. 19. 42 The alumina to be recovered from ignited alunite may be regarded as a by-product saleable to aluminium smelters for reduction to the metallic form.
1938 Times 16 Nov. 23/3 Canadian aluminium interests have joined Swiss and British producers in the formation of the South Wales Aluminium Company, which will build an aluminium smelter in Glamorganshire.
1986 Age (Melbourne) 12 Apr. 5/5 Work will begin soon on the second potline at the Portland aluminium smelter.
2000 Review (Rio Tinto) No. 53. 16/3 Groeneveld himself has..at various times in his career run coal washeries, managed an aluminium smelter and overseen numerous development projects.
aluminium sulphate n. a white to colourless crystalline solid used in dyeing as a mordant, in paper manufacture, and as a flocculating agent in the purification of drinking water and treatment of sewage; cf. alum n.1 1.Formula: Al2(SO4)3.
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1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. xx. 181 The soluble aluminium sulphate, Al23SO4, is prepared..for the use of the dyer by decomposing clay by acting upon it with sulphuric acid.
1916 Jrnl. Industr. & Engin. Chem. 8 1070/2 In sizing the paper, sodium bisulfate or aluminium sulfate should be added before the rosin size in order to acidify the pulp.
1989 Bella 29 Apr. 37/1 Christopher is just one of 20,000 victims of Britain's worst ever mass-poisoning incident..when a water supply became polluted after aluminium sulphate was accidently tipped into..Lowermore reservoir, Camelford.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1811