zinc
n. uncountablen. a bluish-white metal that is used to make other metals stronger or to protect them from rusting. It is also a mineral that your body needs in small amounts to stay healthy.
n. a metallic chemical element with the atomic number 30, used primarily for galvanising steel and in various alloys like brass. In a biological context, it is an essential trace element required for immune function and protein synthesis.
Zinc helps protect the steel from rusting.
The roof is coated with zinc to prevent corrosion from the salty sea air.
While zinc is industrially vital for its anti-corrosive properties, it is equally significant in human biology as a cofactor for numerous enzymes that regulate cellular metabolism and DNA repair.
Borrowed from German Zink, related to Zinke (“point, prong”), from Middle High German zinke, from Old High German zinko (“prong, tine”), allied to zint (“a jag, point”), from Proto-Germanic tindaz (“prong, pinnacle”), from Proto-Indo-European h₃dónts (“tooth, projection”). Cognate with Old English tind (“tine, prong”), Middle Low German tinde, Icelandic tindur (“spike, tooth of a rake or harrow, pinnacle, peak, battlement”). See also Dutch tinne (“battlement”), German Zinne (“pinnacle, battlement”), Danish tinde (“pinnacle, battlement”), Swedish tinne (“tooth of a rake”), More at tine. Doublet of zincum.
Uncountable when referring to the chemical element or dietary mineral; countable only when referring to specific types or isotopes in a technical context.