Enamel

How to spell enamel

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enamel

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enamel mean?

1. nounA hard, glossy coating fused onto metal or pottery, or the hard outer layer of a tooth.
2. verbTo coat or decorate a surface with a hard glossy enamel finish.

Enamel in a sentence

• noun

  The dentist warned that sugary drinks wear away tooth enamel.

• verb

  The workshop will enamel the iron sign in a deep blue finish.

• noun

  The old bathtub had a chip in its white enamel.

• verb

  Craftsmen enamel the copper plate before firing it in the kiln.

Where does enamel come from?

Language of origin: French

Enamel arrived in English in the 1300s from Anglo-Norman and Old French, where the verb 'enamailler' meant 'to coat or decorate with enamel'. That word combined the prefix 'en-', meaning 'to put on' or 'to make', with 'amail' or 'esmail', the Old French noun for the glassy fused coating itself. Behind the French word lies a Germanic root carried by the Frankish settlers, related to a verb meaning 'to melt' or 'to smelt', which is exactly what happens when powdered glass is fused onto metal or pottery under heat. So the spelling really records an action: melting a coating onto a surface. The same melting idea survives in the German word 'Schmelz', meaning enamel or molten glaze. The single 'm' and single 'l' make the modern spelling a quiet trap, since writers often want to double one or the other.

How the word is built

• en- (to put on, make)
• amel (from Old French esmail/amail 'enamel', ultimately from a Germanic root meaning 'to melt or smelt')