platino

platinum

noun PLAH-tee-noh Rare

Origin: From Spanish plata (silver) + the diminutive suffix -ino; named by Spanish conquistadors in South America.

Also means

platinum color

Usage Note

Platino is the precious metal platinum, discovered by Spanish explorers in Colombia and named 'little silver' because they initially dismissed it as an inferior ore. It is denser and rarer than gold. Disco de platino ('platinum record') indicates very high album sales. As a color, platino describes the pale silvery-white of bleached or naturally silver hair: cabello platino.

Examples

"El anillo era de platino y brillaba mucho."

Natural Translation

The ring was made of platinum and shone brilliantly.

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