iron

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“

Harde as the iron were the menne of mighte, 205

—The Rowley Poems

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American Heritage Dictionary (20)

noun A silvery-white, lustrous, malleable, ductile, magnetic or magnetizable, metallic element occurring abundantly in combined forms, notably in hematite, limonite, magnetite, and taconite, and used alloyed in a wide range of important structural materials. Atomic number 26; atomic weight 55.845; melting point 1,535°C; boiling point 2,750°C; specific gravity 7.874 (at 20°C); valence 2, 3, 4, 6. See Table at element.
noun An implement made of iron alloy or similar metal, especially a bar heated for use in branding, curling hair, or cauterizing.
noun Great hardness or strength; firmness: a will of iron.

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Century Dictionary (96)

Chemical symbol, Fe; atomic weight, 56. A metal, the most abundant and the most important of all those used in the metallic form. It was formerly thought that iron did not occur native, except as meteoric iron, but it has recently been found in large quantities in the basaltic lava of Greenland near Ovifak. This, however, is not chemically pure, nor is any iron manufactured from the ore in the large way free from impurities, and the substances thus present in manufactured iron are of great importance in reference to the character of the metal produced. Of all these impurities carbon is the most important, and its relations to iron are both complicated and difficult of explanation. Iron, as prepared by Percy, according to the method indicated by Berzelius, and believed to be as nearly chemically pure as possible, had a specific gravity of 7.8707 before being rolled. Iron deposited from solution by electrolysis, and believed to be pure, had a specific gravity ranging from 7.9405 to 8.107. Iron nearly chemically pure, as obtained by Berzelius, was described by him as being very nearly as white as silver, extremely tenacious, softer than ordinary bar-iron, and scaly in fracture. Iron is put upon the market in three forms, which differ essentially in their properties: (1) cast-iron, which is hard, comparatively brittle, and readily fusible, and cannot be forged or welded; (2) wrought-iron, which is comparatively soft, malleable, ductile, weldable, and fusible only at a very high temperature; (3) steel, which is also malleable and weldable, but fusible, and—what is of great importance—capable of acquiring, by being tempered, a very high degree of hardness, so that it cuts wrought-iron with ease. By the processes ordinarily followed, wrought-iron and steel are made not directly from the ore, but from iron which has been smelted in the blast-furnace or that which has the form of cast-iron. The name cast-iron, however, is ordinarily given to iron which has been remelted in the cupola-furnace and cast in any form desired for use. The product of the blast-furnace, out of which wrought-iron and steel are made, is called pig-iron; but its qualities are not sensibly changed by simple remelting and casting. Some wrought-iron is, however, made directly from the ore. (See bloomery.) The process by which pig-iron is converted into wrought-iron is called puddling (which see). Steel, formerly produced almost exclusively from wrought-iron by “cementation,” is now largely made from pig-iron by the so-called Bessemer process. This process, introduced within a few years, has in a measure obliterated the distinction between wrought-iron and steel, as by it a material can be produced which is intermediate in character between these, having the tenacity and durability of steel, and to a certain extent capable of being tempered. The most striking feature of the chemical composition of the different grades of iron and steel is the difference in the amount of carbon they contain, pig-iron containing the most, and wrought-iron the least. But while the finer kinds of cutlery-steel—such, for instance, as is used for razors—contain 1.5 per cent. of carbon, so-called “steel rails” made by the Bessemer process contain usually only about four tenths of one per cent. As much as five per cent. of carbon is not uncommonly present in pig-iron. The ores of iron are widely and abundantly disseminated over the earth. Their availability for manufacturing purposes depends largely on the proximity of good and cheap fuel and a market. What may truthfully be called mountains of iron ore remain unused in various parts of the world, because not sufficiently well situated. The valuable ores of iron are all oxids or oxidized combinations; the sulphuret is extremely abundant, but useful only as an ore of sulphur. Great Britain leads the world in the manufacture of iron, more than one third of the total product being made there. The quantity of pig-iron made in Great Britain in 1887 was about 7,500,000 tons. The production of the United States during the same year was a little over 6,500,000 tons. Germany, France, and Belgium are next in importance as producers of this metal. Iron has been known from remote historical times. In the Homeric poems it is recognized, being considered as of more value than copper. Copper, sometimes alloyed with tin, was at that period still generally in use for tools and weapons. The smelting of iron from its ores is not necessarily an indication of advanced civilization, since tribes commonly called savage practise the art, and have done so for an indefinite time, without any communication with more highly developed people. See steel and magnet. Abowte that stoone a grate there is of irne stronge made iwys. Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 136. Iron! best of metals! pride of minerals! Hart of the earth! hand of the world! which fals Heavy when it strikes home. Dekker, London's Tempe.
A utensil or weapon made of iron: often in combination with a noun or an adjective expressive of its purpose or character : as, a flat-iron, gridiron, or shooting-iron (slang for pistol). Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? Job xli. 7.
Specifically— A knife, sword, or other cutting implement. Thyn yrons kepe in harde and sharpe usage For graffyng and for kytting I the charge. Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 6. Come, learn of us, lieutenant ; hang your iron up; We'll find you cooler wars. Fletcher, Mad Lover, i. 1.

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Examples (50)

The presence of the iron was a crawling sensation, as if stinging ants swarmed over his entire body I assessed our chances. — Robin Hobb
As soon as he entered the chambers, he threw off what he called his iron-bound coat; and, putting himself at ease in a dressing gown, passed the remainder of the day in talking over all that had befallen them since they parted on the shore of the River St. Lawrence CHAPTER II. — The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
"The recent pull back in Chinese iron ore prices has made some take profits, but we feel momentum could build again from here," the broker said.
"It was definitely nicer than a 3-iron or 2-iron, as I've had sometimes." — Edmonton Sun
Silesian coal-miner New World Resources is to take a 25\% shareholding in Ukrainian iron ore producer, Ferrexpo.

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metal · brass · stone · plastic · glass · leather · wooden · tin · wire · ice · lead · crystal

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Middle English iren, from Old English īren; see eis- in Indo-European roots.

Century Dictionary (2)

I. n. Early modern English also yron; from Middle English iron, iren, yron, yren, irne, yrne, also, with loss of formative -n (regarded apparently as inflectional), ire, yre (see ire), from Anglo-Saxon iren, older īsen (later early Middle English īzen) = Middle Low German īsen = Old High German īsan, īsen, Middle High German īsen, German eisen; later form (with termination -ern reduced to -en) of Anglo-Saxon īsern = Old Saxon īsarn = OFries. īsern, īser, irsen, irser, NFries. irsen = Dutch ijzer = Middle Low German īsern = Old High German īsarn, Middle High German īsern, īser = Icelandic īsarn, later contr. jārn = Danish Swedish jern = Gothic (Moesogothic) eisarn, iron, = Irish iaran, iarun = Gaelic iarunn = Welsh haiarn = Breton houarn, plural hern (whence ult. English harness, q. v.), iron; in Anglo-Saxon both noun and adjective, but in form adjective, and hence, it has been supposed, perhaps orig. as if ‘*icen,’ from īs, ice, in supposed ref. to the ‘glancing’ or ‘shining’ of polished iron, as in swords or knives; but this is very doubtful. See ice. For the change of orig. s to r, see rhotacism. II. a. from Middle English iron, iren, also irnen, yrnen, etc., from Anglo-Saxon īsen, also īsern, for orig. *īsernen (= Dutch ijzeren = Middle Low German īsern = Old High German īsarnīn, īsernīn, Middle High German īserīn, īsern, German eisern; also Old High German īsanīn, īsenīn, īsīn, Middle High German īsenīn, īsīn, German eisen (obsolete) = Gothic (Moesogothic) eisarneins), of iron, from īsern, n., iron, + -en ; the properly adjective form with reg. adjective suffix -en, partly reduced in Anglo-Saxon, etc., to the form of the noun.
Not found in Middle English; cf. Anglo-Saxon īsenian, furnish or mount with iron (= Icelandic jārna, put in irons, mount with iron, shoe (a horse)), from īsen, iron: see iron, n.

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/ˈaɪərn/

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iron

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