# platinum

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈplæt.ɪn.əm/ · frequency rank #6,948

## Definitions
1. The chemical element with atomic number 78 and symbol Pt; a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, silverish-white transition metal of great value.
2. A whitish grey colour, like that of the metal.
3. A single or album that has achieved platinum sales, i.e. over 1 million or 2 million.
4. A platinum-based drug: a platin.

## Etymology
From Spanish platina (“little silver”) del Pinto ("of the Pinto") + -um. It was called "little" (or "lesser") silver because the metal was found as an impurity in gold, and del Pinto for the Pinto River in Grand Columbia where Europeans discovered it being mined by Native Americans. Doublet of platina.

## Easily confused with
- **plating** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plating-vs-platinum)

## Common misspellings (12)
`lpatinum`, `paltinum`, `plaitnum`, `platinmu`, `platinnum`, `platinumm`, `platiunm`, `platnium`, `plattinum`, `pllatinum`, `pltainum`, `pplatinum`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/platinum