Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various alloys of copper and tin in various proportions, sometimes with traces of other metals.
  • noun Any of various alloys of copper, with or without tin, and antimony, phosphorus, or other components.
  • noun A work of art made of one of these alloys.
  • noun A medal made of bronze awarded to one placing third in a competition, as in the Olympics.
  • noun A moderate yellowish to olive brown.
  • noun A pigment of this color.
  • adjective Made of or consisting of bronze.
  • adjective Of a moderate yellowish to olive brown.
  • transitive verb To give the color or appearance of bronze to.
  • transitive verb To make (a person or a person's skin) darker by exposure to the sun; tan.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make brown or of the color of bronze, as by exposure to the sun.
  • To give the color or appearance of bronze to, as by applying copper-dust or -leaf to the surface, etc.
  • To harden or make like bronze; hence, figuratively, to make hard or unfeeling.
  • noun An alloy of which copper forms the predominating portion, and into the composition of which tin almost always enters: but the name is also given to alloys containing no tin.
  • noun A work of art, as a statuette, bust, or model, composed of bronze, whether cast or wrought.
  • noun A brown pigment or coloring substance resembling bronze; bronze-powder.
  • noun Boldness; impudence; brass.
  • Made of or resembling bronze: as, a bronze statue.
  • Characterized by the use of bronze: as, the bronze age.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To give an appearance of bronze to, by a coating of bronze powder, or by other means; to make of the color of bronze.
  • transitive verb To make hard or unfeeling; to brazen.
  • transitive verb (Pathol.) See Addison's disease.
  • noun An alloy of copper and tin, to which small proportions of other metals, especially zinc, are sometimes added. It is hard and sonorous, and is used for statues, bells, cannon, etc., the proportions of the ingredients being varied to suit the particular purposes. The varieties containing the higher proportions of tin are brittle, as in bell metal and speculum metal.
  • noun A statue, bust, etc., cast in bronze.
  • noun A yellowish or reddish brown, the color of bronze; also, a pigment or powder for imitating bronze.
  • noun Boldness; impudence; “brass.”
  • noun See under Aluminium.
  • noun an age of the world which followed the stone age, and was characterized by the use of implements and ornaments of copper or bronze.
  • noun a metallic powder, used with size or in combination with painting, to give the appearance of bronze, gold, or other metal, to any surface.
  • noun are made by adding phosphorus and silicon respectively to ordinary bronze, and are characterized by great tenacity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable A natural or man-made alloy of copper, usually of tin, but also with one or more other metals.
  • noun countable and uncountable A reddish-brown colour, the colour of bronze.
  • noun countable A work of art made of bronze, especially a sculpture.
  • noun A bronze medal
  • adjective Made of bronze metal.
  • adjective Having a reddish-brown colour.
  • adjective of the skin Tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun.
  • verb transitive To plate with bronze.
  • verb transitive To color bronze.
  • verb intransitive, of the skin To change to a bronze or tan colour due to exposure to the sun.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb give the color and appearance of bronze to something
  • noun an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
  • verb get a tan, from wind or sun
  • adjective made from or consisting of bronze
  • adjective of the color of bronze
  • noun a sculpture made of bronze

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Italian bronzo.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1730-40; from French bronze (1511), from Italian bronzo (13th cent.), either (1) from Byzantine Greek βροντησίον (brontēsíon) (11th cent.), presumably from Βρεντήσιον (Brentḗsion) ‘Brindisi’, known for the manufacture of bronze, or (2) ultimately from Persian برنج (birinj, biranj, "brass") ~ پرنگ (piring) ‘copper’.

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  • Perhaps ultimately from Persian birinj "copper"

    August 30, 2009