bronze / bränz/ • n. a yellowish-brown alloy of copper with up to one-third tin. ∎  a yellowish-brown color: rich, gleaming shades of bronze. ∎  a work of sculpture or other object made of bronze.• adj. made of or colored like bronze: a bronze statue.• v. [tr.] (usu. be bronzed) make (a person or part of the body) suntanned: Alison was bronzed by outdoor life. ∎  give a surface of bronze or something resembling bronze to: the doors were bronzed with sculpted reliefs.DERIVATIVES: bronz·y adj.ORIGIN: mid 17th cent. (as a verb): from French bronze (noun), bronzer (verb), from Italian bronzo, probably from Persian birinj ‘brass.’

bronze Traditionally an alloy of copper and no more than 33% tin. It is hard and resistant to corrosion, but easy to work. It has long been used in sculpture and bell-casting. Other metals are often added for specific properties and uses, such as aluminium in aircraft parts and tubing, silicon in marine hardware and chemical equipment, and phosphorus in springs, gunmetal, and electrical parts.

bronze. Alloy of copper and tin used for architectural ornament, doors and door-furniture, funerary monuments, grilles and railings, wall-plaques (commemorative or not), window-frames, etc. It is also used in masonry for cramps, dowels, etc. See brass.

bronze XVIII. — F. — It. bronzo, of uncert. orig.