brass

n. category of musical instruments; type of metal alloy which consists of zinc and copper

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses, each of which has unique properties. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin.. Despite this distinction, some types of brasses are called bronzes. Brass is a substitutional alloy. It is used for decoration for its bright gold-like appearance; for applications where low friction is required such as locks, gears, bearings, ammunition, and valves; for plumbing and electrical applications; and extensively in musical instruments such as horns and bells for its acoustic properties.
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Noun
1. an alloy of copper and zinc
(hypernym) copper-base alloy
(hyponym) alpha-beta brass, Muntz metal, yellow metal
(substance-meronym) copper, Cu, atomic number 29
2. a wind instrument that consists of a brass tube (usually of variable length) blown by means of a cup-shaped or funnel-shaped mouthpiece
(hypernym) wind instrument, wind
(hyponym) baritone, baritone horn
(part-meronym) valve
3. the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something; "he claims that the present administration is corrupt"; "the governance of an association is responsible to its members"; "he quickly became recognized as a member of the establishment"
(synonym) administration, governance, governing body, establishment, organization, organisation
(hypernym) body
(hyponym) Curia
(part-holonym) government, authorities, regime
(member-meronym) advisory board, planning board
(part-meronym) hierarchy, power structure, pecking order
4. impudent aggressiveness; "I couldn't believe her boldness"; "he had the effrontery to question my honesty"
(synonym) boldness, nerve, face, cheek
(hypernym) aggressiveness
(hyponym) audacity, audaciousness
5. an ornament or utensil made of brass
(hypernym) decoration, ornament, ornamentation
6. the section of a band or orchestra that plays brass instruments
(synonym) brass section
(hypernym) section
(hyponym) trumpet section
7. a memorial made of brass
(synonym) memorial tablet, plaque
(hypernym) memorial, monument

(n.)
Utensils, ornaments, or other articles of brass.
  

(n.)
Lumps of pyrites or sulphuret of iron, the color of which is near to that of brass.
  

(n.)
Impudence; a brazen face.
  

(n.)
Coin made of copper, brass, or bronze.
  

(n.)
An alloy (usually yellow) of copper and zinc, in variable proportion, but often containing two parts of copper to one part of zinc. It sometimes contains tin, and rarely other metals.
  

(n.)
A journal bearing, so called because frequently made of brass. A brass is often lined with a softer metal, when the latter is generally called a white metal lining. See Axle box, Journal Box, and Bearing.
  

(n.)
A brass plate engraved with a figure or device. Specifically, one used as a memorial to the dead, and generally having the portrait, coat of arms, etc.
  

During the 14th and 15th centuries gisants or funerary brasses were often used as memorials for knights and their consorts. These plates were constructed in pieces of sheet brass and installed in the floor of a local church in remembrance of the knight's deeds. Often highly detailed, they are one of the better references for what armour looked like during the transitional period , when few actual examples of the armour have survived. One must use caution when dating armour using a funerary brass, however, because a knight was generally depicted in his own harness , which might be as much as forty years out of date at the time of his death. In modern times, these brasses have been the base upon which the popular brass rubbings are made, a process by which a wax crayon is used to take an impression of the knight. Many English and French churches produce income by selling finished rubbings of the brasses in their floors or sell the components and allow tourists to take their own rubbings.