speiss
(spaɪs)
Also 8–9 speis.
[ad. G. speise in the same sense, a special use of speise (:—pop. Lat. spēsa, L. expensa) ‘food, nourishment’.]
1. An impure metallic compound, containing nickel, cobalt, iron, etc., produced in the smelting of certain ores; esp. an arsenide obtained in the manufacture of smalt and used as a source of nickel.
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) II. 287 It [sulphurated nickel] affords, together with Speis (which is a compound of Nickel and Cobalt) also Copper and Silver. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 302 The latter ores should be but slightly roasted, so as to convert the nickel into speiss. 1850 Fownes Chem. (ed. 3) 295 The artificial, or perhaps rather merely fused, product, called speiss,..may be employed as a source of the nickel-salts. 1877 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 184 The average assay of speiss produced during the year. 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 61/2 We can produce a speis which contains only cobalt and nickel. |
2. speiss-cobalt, tin-white cobalt; smaltine.
| 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 20 Antimonial silver ore with traces of speiss-cobalt. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 81/1 Smaltine or speiss cobalt, an arsenide of the isomorphous bases, cobalt, nickel, and iron. |