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Webster 1913 Edition

Anneal

An-neal′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Annealed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Annealing
.]
[OE.
anelen
to heat, burn, AS.
an[GREEK]lan
;
an
on +
[GREEK]lan
to burn; also OE.
anelen
to enamel, prob. influenced by OF.
neeler
,
nieler
, to put a black enamel on gold or silver, F.
nieller
, fr. LL.
nigellare
to blacken, fr. L.
nigellus
blackish, dim. of
niger
black. Cf.
Niello
,
Negro
.]
1.
To subject to great heat, and then cool slowly, as glass, cast iron, steel, or other metal, for the purpose of rendering it less brittle; to temper; to toughen.
2.
To heat, as glass, tiles, or earthenware, in order to fix the colors laid on them.

Webster 1828 Edition

Anneal

ANNE'AL

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To heat; to heat, as glass and iron for the purpose of rendering them less brittle, or to fix colors; vulgarly called nealing. This is done by heating the metal nearly to fluidity, in an oven or furnace,and suffering it to cool gradually. Metals made hard and brittle by hammering. by this process recover their malleability. The word is applied also to the baking of tiles.
2.
To temper by heat; and Shenstone uses it for tempering by cold.

Definition 2024

anneal

anneal

English

Anti-aircraft shells being loaded into a furnace to be annealed, February 1942, collection of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, National Archives and Record Administration

Alternative forms

Verb

anneal ‎(third-person singular simple present anneals, present participle annealing, simple past and past participle annealed)

  1. (metallurgy) To subject to great heat, and then cool slowly for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen.
    • 2010, Kate McKinnon, Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry: Techniques and Explorations, Loveland, Colo.: Interweave Press, ISBN 978-1-59668-174-3, page 27:
      A properly made, fully sintered and fully annealed metal clay piece should be able to stand up to any traditional metalsmithing technique.
  2. (figuratively) To strengthen or harden.
    The experience annealed them, strengthening their resolve.‎

Translations

External links

Etymology

From Middle English anelen, onelen, from Old English anǣlan, onǣlan ‎(“to burn, ignite, set fire to, consume, heat, enlighten, incite, inflame, inspire, kindle”), from Proto-Germanic *ana ‎(“on”) + Proto-Germanic *ailijaną ‎(“to burn”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‎(“to burn”). The word is related to Old English onāl ‎(“that which is burnt, burning; incense”), Old English āl ‎(“fire, burning”), Icelandic eldur ‎(“fire”), Swedish eld ‎(“fire, flame”), Danish ild ‎(“fire”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /əˈniːl/
  • Rhymes: -iːl
  • Hyphenation: an‧neal

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