Also 8–9 speis. [ad. G. speise in the same sense, a special use of speise (:—pop. Lat. spēsa, L. expensa) ‘food, nourishment.’]
1. An impure metallic compound, containing nickel, cobalt, iron, etc., produced in the smelting of certain ores; esp. an arsenide obtained in the manufacture of smalt and used as a source of nickel.
1796. Kirwan, Elem. Min. (ed. 2), II. 287. It [sulphurated nickel] affords, together with Speis (which is a compound of Nickel and Cobalt) also Copper and Silver.
1839. Ure, Dict. Arts, 302. The latter ores should be but slightly roasted, so as to convert the nickel into speiss.
1850. Fownes, Chem. (ed. 3), 295. The artificial, or perhaps rather merely fused, product, called speiss,… may be employed as a source of the nickel-salts.
1877. Raymond, Statist. Mines & Mining, 184. The average assay of speiss produced during the year.
1883. Encycl. Brit., XVI. 61/2. We can produce a speis which contains only cobalt and nickel.
2. Speiss-cobalt, tin-white cobalt; smaltine.
1872. Raymond, Statist. Mines & Mining, 20. Antimonial silver ore with traces of speiss-cobalt.
1877. Encycl. Brit., VI. 81/1. Smaltine or speiss cobalt, an arsenide of the isomorphous bases, cobalt, nickel, and iron.
