platinum English · revision 10503

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1812|origins=es platina}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈplæt.ɪn.əm/, /ˈplæt.nəm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined in 1812 by the British chemist Sir Humphry Davy as an alteration of the earlier [[platina]] (1750), to match other metal names in -um such as tantalum,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Spanish [[m|es|platina|t=platinum]], a diminutive of plata, silver,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from Old French plate or Old Provençal plata, a sheet of metal (see [[plate]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The metal: 1812, when Davy renamed it;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1794.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Spaniards at first thought the metal an inferior silver, hence the name platina; it came from their colonies in Mexico and Colombia.^(Etymonline) As a greyish-white colour it is by 1923,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and as a shade of blond hair by 1927, in ''platinum blonde'', the title of a 1931 film starring Jean Harlow.^(Etymonline) A ''platinum record'', presented for a very large number of sales, is from 1971.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1750 – platina.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – platinum.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1923 – a grey colour.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1927 – platinum blonde.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1971 – a platinum record.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A heavy, silvery-white precious metallic element, resistant to corrosion, used in jewellery and as a catalyst; symbol Pt.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A medium to light grey colour.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a record or album, having sold a very large number of copies.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[platinize]]

+ * [[cisplatin]]

+ * [[platin-]]

+ * [[platinate]]

+ * [[platinic]]

+ * [[multiplatinum]]

+ * [[platiniridium]]

+ * [[platinite]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[platina]]

+ * [[plate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}