/euh mal"geuhm/ , n.
1. an alloy of mercury with another metal or metals.
2. an alloy that consists chiefly of silver mixed with mercury and variable amounts of other metals and is used as a dental filling.
3. a rare mineral, an alloy of silver and mercury, occurring as silver-white crystals or grains.
4. a mixture or combination: His character is a strange amalgam of contradictory traits.
[ 1425-75; late ME amalgam ( e ) al the + malgham málagma softening agent, equiv. to malak- (s. of malássein to soften) + -ma n. suffix ]