Also 8–9 biddery, bidery. [Urdū bidrī, f. Bidar or Bedar a town in the Nizam’s dominion in India.] An alloy of copper, lead, tin, and zinc, used as a ground for inlaying with gold and silver, in the manufacture of Bidri- or Biddery-ware.
1794. Europ. Mag., 209. You may have heard of Bidry Work.
1813. Ann. Reg., 499/1. The alloys for the gurry and the Biddery ware.
1875. Ure, Dict. Arts, I. 341. Bidery does not rust, yields little to the hammer, and breaks only when violently beaten.
1883. Daily News, 3 July, 2/2. The ‘bidri’ ware is now almost as well known in England.
