ANNEALING

annealing, tempering

(noun) hardening something by heat treatment

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Noun

annealing (countable and uncountable, plural annealings)

The heating of solid metal or glass to high temperatures and cooling it slowly so that its particles arrange into a defined lattice.

Coordinate terms

• tempering

Verb

annealing

present participle of anneal

Source: Wiktionary


An*neal"ing, n.

1. The process used to render glass, iron, etc., less brittle, performed by allowing them to cool very gradually from a high heat.

2. The burning of metallic colors into glass, earthenware, etc.

ANNEAL

An*neal", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Annealed; p. pr. & vb. n. Annealing.] Etym: [OE. anelen to heat, burn, AS. an; an on + to burn; also OE. anelen to enamel, prob. influenced by OF. neeler, nieler, to put a black enamel on gold or silver, F. nieller, fr. LL. nigellare to blacken, fr. L. nigellus blackish, dim. of niger black. Cf. Niello, Negro.]

1. To subject to great heat, and then cool slowly, as glass, cast iron, steel, or other metal, for the purpose of rendering it less brittle; to temper; to toughen.

2. To heat, as glass, tiles, or earthenware, in order to fix the colors laid on them.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 April 2025

WHOLE

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”


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Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

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