metallic meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

metallic

adj

UK /mɪˈtæl.ɪk/ · US /məˈtæl.ɪk/

Etymology From Latin metallicus, from metallum (“metal”), from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon). Equivalent to metal + -ic.

Of, relating to, or characteristic of metal.

The Lethrblaka's blood, to Eragon's astonishment, was a metallic blue-green, not unlike the verdigris that forms on aged copper.2008, Christopher Paolini, “Assault on Helgrind”, in Brisingr, page 44:

Made of or containing metal.

[…] and, lo ! a palace towering ſeems, / With Parian pillars and metallic beams.a. 1712, William King, “Rufinus: Or, The Favourite”, in The Works of the English Poets, volume XX, page 374:
These chemical distinctions then, to which we have referred, are quite independent of physical condition. For instance, amongst the most metallic of the metals is a gas.1878, Sir Norman Lockyer, “On Dissociation”, in Studies in Spectrum Analysis, page 167:

1 more example

Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) has introduced a bill to address power outages caused by metallic film balloons when they come into contact with powerlines.2018 February 14, “Reducing Power Outages Caused by Metallic Balloons is Focus of Bill Introduced Today”, in California State Assembly Democratic Caucus, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2020:

Of a sound Harsh, as if coming from two metals striking one another.

No sooner had these syllables passed my lips, than—as if a shield of brass had indeed, at the moment, fallen heavily upon a floor of silver—I became aware of a distinct, hollow, metallic and clangorous, yet apparently muffled reverberation.1839, Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, in Tales, London: Wiley & Putnam, published 1846, page 81:

Of a color Having the appearance of being of polished metal.

Synonyms: metalish, metallical, metallous
Derived terms: 37 terms
antemetallic, bimetallic, biometallic, dimetallic, flexometallic, half-metallic, heterometallic, homometallic, intermetallic, monometallic, multimetallic, nanometallic, nonmetallic, organometallic, polymetallic, premetallic, proto-metallic, pseudometallic, quadrimetallic, radiometallic, semimetallic, submetallic, trimetallic, unmetallic, Carolina metallic tiger beetle, metallical, metallically, metallic bond, metallic hydrogen, metallic isopod, metallicity, metallicize, metallicly, metallicness, metallic radius, metallic soap, metallic waterproofing
Related terms: metal

noun

Etymology From Latin metallicus, from metallum (“metal”), from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon). Equivalent to metal + -ic.

A metallic color.

As Robert Clergerie, whose unisex Popée shoe comes in an array of pastels and eye-popping metallics, explained the attraction, “It gives manhood to women.”2007 May 24, Karin Nelson, “Keeping Time in Cool Comfort”, in New York Times: