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or·mo·lu

(ôrmə-l′)

1. Any of several copper and zinc or tin alloys resembling gold in appearance and used to ornament furniture, moldings, architectural details, and jewelry.

2. An imitation of gold.

[French or moulu : or, gold (from Old French; see OR³) + obsolete French molu, past participle of moudre, to grind up (from Old French, from Latin molere; see melə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

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ormolu

porcelain pitcher with ormolu embellishment

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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