The building blocks of English
Affixes
platin(o)-
Platinum.
English platinum, alteration of earlier platina, from Spanish, a diminutive of plata, silver.
Platinum is a precious silvery-white metallic element, first encountered by the Spanish in South America. Something platinized has been coated with platinum; the adjective platinous refers to platinum in its divalent state, as in platinous oxide, PtO; platinic refers to its tetravalent state, for example platinic hydroxide, Pt(OH)4; a platinocyanide is one of a series of fluorescent salts containing the anion ==Pt(CN)4; platinoid is an alloy of copper with zinc, nickel, and sometimes tungsten, used for its high electrical resistance, so named because it resembles platinum.
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