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steel (stēl)
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n.
1. A generally hard, strong, durable, malleable alloy of iron and carbon, usually containing between 0.2 and 1.5 percent carbon, often with other constituents such as manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, copper, tungsten, cobalt, or silicon, depending on the desired alloy properties, and widely used as a structural material.
2. Something, such as a sword, that is made of steel.
3. A quality suggestive of this alloy, especially a hard, unflinching character.
4. Steel gray.
adj.
1.
a. Made with, relating to, or consisting of steel: steel beams; the steel industry; a bicycle with a steel frame.
b. Very firm or strong: a steel grip.
2. Of a steel gray.
tr.v. steeled, steel·ing, steels
1. To cover, plate, edge, or point with steel.
2. To make hard, strong, or obdurate; strengthen: He steeled himself for disappointment.
[Middle English stel, from Old English stȳle, stēl.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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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