Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 白金. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 白金, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 白金 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 白金 you have here. The definition of the word 白金 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of白金, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “The wasei kango derivation only applies to the platinum sense. A fuller etymology is needed to describe 1) where and when this 白金 spelling first arose, and 2) how the senses developed and when they arose. Attested in English and Chinese Dictionary: With the Punti and Mandarin Pronunciation (1868).”
Originally from Middle Chinese compound 白金 (MC baek kim, “white + metal”) in reference to silver. Consider 銀(shirogane, older shirokane, “silver”, literally “white metal”), where shiro in isolation is spelled 白 and kane in isolation is spelled 金.
This reading hakkin is sometimes used erroneously to refer to white gold, due to one of the literal interpretations of the characters in the kanji spelling. The reading shirokin (see below) appears in some reference works[3] with the meaning white gold, but the borrowed term ホワイトゴールド(howaito gōrudo) is much more common.
Compound of 白(shiro, “white”) + 金(kin, “gold”). The use of the kun'yomi for the first character and the on'yomi for the second character points to a more recent derivation.