cupel
[ kyoo-puh l, kyoo-pel ]
/ ˈkyu pəl, kyuˈpɛl /
noun
a small, cuplike, porous container, usually made of bone ash, used in assaying, as for separating gold and silver from lead.
a receptacle or furnace bottom in which silver is refined.
verb (used with object), cu·peled, cu·pel·ing or (especially British) cu·pelled, cu·pel·ling.
to heat or refine in a cupel.
Origin of cupel
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin
cūpella, equivalent to Latin
cūp(a) tub +
-ella diminutive suffix
OTHER WORDS FROM cupel
cu·pel·er [kyoo-puh-ler] /ˈkyu pə lər/, cu·pel·ler [kyoo-pel-er] /kyuˈpɛl ər/, noun cu·pel·la·tion, nounWords nearby cupel
cupboard,
cupboard is bare, the,
cupboard love,
cupcake,
cupe,
cupel,
cupellation,
cupertino,
cupferron,
cupflower,
cupful
Example sentences from the Web for cupellation
British Dictionary definitions for cupellation (1 of 2)
cupellation
/ (ˌkjuːpɪˈleɪʃən) /
noun
the process of recovering precious metals from lead by melting the alloy in a cupel and oxidizing the lead by means of an air blast
the manufacture of lead oxide by melting and oxidizing lead
British Dictionary definitions for cupellation (2 of 2)
cupel
/ (ˈkjuːpəl, kjʊˈpɛl) /
noun
a refractory pot in which gold or silver is refined
a small porous bowl made of bone ash in which gold and silver are recovered from a lead button during assaying
verb -pels, -pelling or -pelled or US -pels, -peling or -peled
(tr)
to refine (gold or silver) by means of cupellation
Derived forms of cupel
cupeller, nounWord Origin for cupel
C17: from French
coupelle, diminutive of
coupe
cup