English
amalgam
Amalgam comes from Medieval Latin amalgama ‘mercury alloy’, from Arabic اَلْمَلْغَم ‘emollient poultice or unguent for sores’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek μαλακός ‘soft’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαλακός1malakós‘soft’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαλάσσω1malássō‘to soften’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμάλαγμα1málagma‘emollient’
- Arabicc. 500–presentاَلْمَلْغَم1al-malḡam‘emollient poultice or unguent for sores’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500amalgama1‘mercury alloy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610amalgam1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English amalgam
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “gold t’amalgam with some six of mercury”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαλακόςWiktionary, English amalgammalakós‘soft’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαλάσσωWiktionary, English amalgammalássō‘to soften’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμάλαγμαWiktionary, English amalgammálagma‘emollient’
- Arabicc. 500–presentاَلْمَلْغَمWiktionary, English amalgamal-malḡam‘emollient poultice or unguent for sores’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500amalgamaWiktionary, English amalgam‘mercury alloy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610amalgamWiktionary, English amalgam. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “gold t’amalgam with some six of mercury”
The story
For the verb, compare French amalgamer.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘soft, weak’
miller, mill, meal, mild, mold, mole, mould, mule, muller, molar, mullet, melatonin, mull, camo, moulin, moline, maelstrom, malleable, martel, amyl, malm, 39 more
through Proto-Hellenic *məlakos
Today it means
noun An alloy containing mercury.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “amalgam”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek μαλακός / amalgam