Dictionary

cold iron en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative, uncountable) Alternative form of cold steel (“swords, knives, bladed weapons”).
   alt of cold steel
   • 'Gold is for the mistress — silver for the maid — / Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.' / 'Good!' said the Baron, sitting in his hall, / 'But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of them all.' 1910, Rudyard Kipling, “Cold Iron”, in Rewards and Fairies:
   • This scene passed in presence of Lieutenant Lismahago, who encouraged Clinker to hazard a thrust of cold iron with his antagonist. 1771, Tobias Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker:
2. (uncountable) a (possibly fictional) substance harmful to fairies; depending on the story, ordinary iron or iron treated in some way
3. (Ireland, Scotland, slang, uncountable) A bad omen.