plata

silver

noun PLAH-tah Less Common

Origin: From Vulgar Latin platta, 'flat metal sheet'.

Also means

money (informal)

Usage Note

Plata means the metal silver, but throughout Latin America it is the everyday informal word for money — much like English 'cash' or 'dough'. In Spain, dinero is the neutral word and plata for money sounds markedly Latin American. Argentina itself derives from the Latin argentum (silver), as the Río de la Plata region was believed to be rich in silver.

Examples

"No tengo plata para salir esta noche."

Natural Translation

I don't have money to go out tonight.

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