/ ˈnɪkl; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U ] ( symb Ni ) a chemical element. Nickel is a hard silver-white metal used in making some types of steel and other alloys .
2.
[ C ] a coin of the US and Canada worth 5 cents
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 18th cent.: shortening of German Kupfernickel , the copper-coloured ore from which nickel was first obtained, from Kupfer copper + Nickel demon (with reference to the ore's failure to yield copper).