MET'ALLURGY, noun [Gr. metal, and work.] The art of working metals, comprehending the whole process of separating them from other matters in the ore, smelting, refining and parting them. Gilding is also a branch of metallurgy But in a more limited and usual sense, metallurgy is the operation of separating metals from their ores. The French include in metallurgy the art of drawing metals from the earth.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI