An alloy metal with a silvery-white appearance, sometimes used as a substitute for silver in jewelry and tableware.
From Spanish or Portuguese albata, possibly connected to alba meaning 'white' and referring to the metal's appearance. The term gained currency in the 19th century with industrial metalwork.
Albata represents a clever solution to the problem of expensive silver—manufacturers created white-looking alloys to make fancy things affordable, which is why many antique forks and spoons aren't actually silver!
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