---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for October 13, 1999 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- amalgam [n. uh-MAL-gum] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There are two kinds of amalgam. One is a metallic mixture of mercury or gallium with other metals. Although mercury is liquid at room temperature, amalgam is usually solid but soft. Amalgams are used as fillings for teeth. The other kind of amalgam is a combination of diverse elements, but usually not in a physical mixture. Example: "Flora's personality was an amalgam of strength, cheerful optimism, and patience." English borrowed this word from Old French amalgame, which came from Latin. The ultimate ancestor was probably Greek malagma (soft mass), a word that is pronounced as if one has a soft mass in the mouth. Another word from the same root is malleable. A Cool Fact about mercury: http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1999/08/10.html A Cool Fact about gallium: http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1999/10/13.html Today's sponsor: Cybergold "Click Here to Join Cybergold -- the Internet's premier incentive program. Cybergold pays you REAL CASH to read ads, complete surveys and make purchases on the World Wide Web. Become a member and "Get Paid to Surf the Web" today. It's FREE!" http://www.cybergold.com/pid/500200001094_txt_001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cool Word of the Day list membership: 154,269 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send a free gift subscription: http://www.tlk-lists.com/giftsub/ Subscribing, unsubscribing, address changes: Existing subscribers: http://www.tlk-lists.com/change/ To join as a new subscriber: http://www.tlk-lists.com/join/ To become a sponsor: http://www.tlk-lists.com/sponsor/ Feedback: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1999, The Learning Kingdom, Inc. http://www.LearningKingdom.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------