verb
- past tense of cupel; refined or purified (metal, especially gold or silver) by heating in a cupel to remove impurities
Usage: metallurgy; technical
Examples
- The goldsmith cupelled the precious metal to remove lead and other impurities.
- Silver ore was cupelled in the furnace to produce pure silver.
- The assayer cupelled the sample to determine its exact gold content.
- Ancient metalworkers cupelled metals using bone ash containers.
- The refinery cupelled tons of silver-bearing material each day.