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Webster 1913 Edition

Malleable

Mal′le-a-ble

,
Adj.
[F.
malléable
, fr. LL.
malleare
to hammer. See
Malleate
.]
1.
Capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers; – applied to metals.
Malleable iron
,
iron that is capable of extension or of being shaped under the hammer; decarbonized cast iron. See under
Iron
.
–
Malleable iron castings
,
articles cast from pig iron and made malleable by heating then for several days in the presence of some substance, as hematite, which deprives the cast iron of some of its carbon.

Webster 1828 Edition

Malleable

MAL'LEABLE

,
Adj.
[L. malleus. See Mall.] That may be drawn out and extended by beating; capable of extension by the hammer; a quality of metals, particularly of gold.

Definition 2024

malleable

malleable

See also: malléable

English

Adjective

malleable ‎(comparative more malleable, superlative most malleable)

  1. Able to be hammered into thin sheets; capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers.
  2. (metaphorical) Flexible, liable to change.
    My opinion on the subject is malleable.
  3. (cryptography, of an algorithm) in which an adversary can alter a ciphertext such that it decrypts to a related plaintext

Related terms

Coordinate terms

Translations

References

  • malleable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology

From Middle French malléable, borrowed from Late Latin malleābilis, derived from malleāre ‎(“to hammer”), from malleus ‎(“hammer”), from Proto-Indo-European *mal-ni- ‎(“crushing”), an extended variant of Proto-Indo-European *melH₂- ‎(“crush, grind”).

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈmæli.əbəl/
  • Hyphenation: mal‧le‧a‧ble

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