amalgam
a·mal·gam/əˈmæl.ɡəm/noun
amalgam is spelled A-M-A-L-G-A-M: 7 letters and 3 syllables (a·mal·gam). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, amalgam means “An alloy containing mercury” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of amalgam is amalgams.
How many letters and syllables are in amalgam?
| Letters | 7: A-M-A-L-G-A-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: a·mal·gam |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is amalgam?
Amalgam appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce amalgam?
- /əˈmæl.ɡəm/
Amalgam has 3 syllables, split a·mal·gam in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-amalgam.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of amalgam
- amalgams plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- amalgaming participle, present
- amalgamed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does amalgam mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An alloy containing mercury.
- 2
A combination of different things.
- 3
One of the ingredients in an alloy.
- 4
An alloy of mercury used to fill tooth cavities.
verb
- 1
archaicTo amalgamate (something) with a thing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate amalgam?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of amalgam: aaa.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Amalgam in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense alloy:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does amalgam come from?
From Medieval Latin amalgama (“mercury alloy”), from Arabic اَلْمَلْغَم (al-malḡam, “emollient poultice or unguent for sores”), from Ancient Greek μάλαγμα (málagma, “emollient; malleable material”), from μαλάσσω (malássō, “to soften”), from μαλακός (malakós, “soft”). Doublet of malagma. For the verb, compare French amalgamer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).