Nick"el (?), n. [G., fr. Sw. nickel, abbrev. from Sw. kopparnickel copper-nickel, a name given in derision, as it was thought to be a base ore of copper. The origin of the second part of the word is uncertain. Cf. Kupfer-nickel, Copper-nickel.] 1. (Chem.) A bright silver-white metallic element. It is of the iron group, and is hard, malleable, and ductile. It occurs combined with sulphur in millerite, with arsenic in the mineral niccolite, and with arsenic and sulphur in nickel glance. Symbol Ni. Atomic weight 58.6.

&fist; On account of its permanence in air and inertness to oxidation, it is used in the smaller coins, for plating iron, brass, etc., for chemical apparatus, and in certain alloys, as german silver. It is magnetic, and is very frequently accompanied by cobalt, both being found in meteoric iron.

2. A small coin made of or containing nickel; esp., a five-cent piece. [Colloq. U.S.]

• (uncountable) A silvery elemental metal with an atomic number of 28 and symbol Ni.
  
• (US, Canada; countable) A coin worth 5 cents.
  
• (US slang; sometimes the nickel or the hot nickel) Interstate 5, a highway that runs along the west coast of the United States.
  
  French
• nickel (metal)
  

German
• nickel (a silvery elemental metal with an atomic number of 28 and symbol Ni).