noun / adjective
platinum
PLAT-ih-num/ˈplætɪnəm/
A dense silvery precious metal.
A platinum ingot sits beside a plain ring of the same metal.
Etymology
Spanish platina meant “little silver,” reflecting the metal’s silver-like appearance and the Spaniards’ initial belief that it was an inferior kind of silver rather than a distinct metal.
In context
in silver mines around the Chaco Department in Colombia the discovery that this metal was not an alloy but a distinct new element was published in 1748 chemists who studied platinum dissolved it in aqua regia
More examples
- The jeweler sets the diamond in platinum.
- Platinum helps speed up chemical reactions in catalytic converters.
- A platinum bar weighs more than a silver bar of equal size.