work-hardenedadj.
/ˈwəːkˌhɑːdnd/, U.S. /ˈwərkˌhɑrdnd/ 1. Of a person, body part, animal, etc.: toughened or strengthened by physical labour.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > metal in specific state or form > [adjective] > tempered or hardened
nealed1576
tempered1663
annealed1684
work-hardened1846
attempered1852
air-hardened1877
strain-hardened1914
work-hardened1915
1846 A. Steinmetz Novitiate xvi. 257 Bless God for the strength of those arms, those work-hardened limbs.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. iv. 67 She stands knitting..with her work-hardened hands.
1922 Breeder's Gaz. 31 Aug. 235/4 Mature, work-hardened horses.
1927 Boys' Life Feb. 46/2 Jim's work-hardened muscles hardly felt the strain as he swung Richard lightly up onto his broad shoulders.
1988 N.Y. Times 7 Feb. (Travel section) 47/2 Gwennap Pit,..where John Wesley preached to the thousands of work-hardened, poverty-plagued men and women of Cornwall eager to hear his message.
2006 B. Brandth in B. B. Bock & S. Shortall Rural Gender Relations xxi. 329 The hero-ization of the work-hardened bodies of men.
2. Metallurgy. Of metal: strengthened or hardened by plastic deformation at ambient temperature (cold working), which increases the number of dislocations in the material and reduces its ductility. Also: designating such a hardened state.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > metal in specific state or form > [adjective] > tempered or hardened
nealed1576
tempered1663
annealed1684
work-hardened1846
attempered1852
air-hardened1877
strain-hardened1914
work-hardened1915
1915 Jrnl. Inst. Metals 14 158 An electrolyte in contact with a work-hardened piece of metal accelerates in it the transformation to the more stable condition.
1924 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 110 431 The abnormally low value of the limit of proportionality..is found in both quench-hardened and work-hardened steels.
1957 Aluminium Bronze (Copper Devel. Assoc.) (rev. ed.) viii. 147 Aluminium bronze components become locally work-hardened on their surfaces in service.
1973 J. G. Tweeddale Materials Technol. II. iv. 102 Cold drawing..leaves the material in a work-hardened condition which is often desirable.
2002 R. D. Treloar Plumbing: Heating & Gas Installations (ed. 2) ix. 340 Sheet copper..will not creep but become work-hardened if cold-worked too much.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1846