What does "tombac" mean?
Tombac: An alloy of copper and zinc, resembling brass, and containing about 84 per cent of copper; -- called also German, or Dutch, brass. It is very malleable and ductile, and when beaten into thin leaves is sometimes called Dutch metal. The addition of arsenic makes white tombac. [Written also tombak, and tambac.] TOM ' BEDLAM Tom o' Bed"lam. Formerly, a wandering mendicant discharged as incurable from Bethlehem Hospitel, Eng.; hence, a wandering mendicant, either mad or feigning to be so; a madman; a bedlamite.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00