BULLION

bullion

(noun) gold or silver in bars or ingots

bullion

(noun) a mass of precious metal

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

bullion (countable and uncountable, plural bullions)

A bulk quantity of precious metal, usually gold or silver, assessed by weight and typically cast as ingots.

(obsolete) Base or uncurrent coin.

(obsolete) Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on bridles, saddles, etc.

(obsolete) A heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose cords are prominent.

Proper noun

Bullion (plural Bullions)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Bullion is the 20037th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1335 individuals. Bullion is most common among White (91.69%) individuals.

Source: Wiktionary


Bul"lion, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. bullyon a hook used for fastening the dress, a button, stud, an embossed ornament of various kinds, e.g., on the cover of a book, on bridles or poitrels, for purses, for breeches and doublets, LL. bullio the swelling of boiling water, a mass of gold or silver, fr. L. bulla boss, stud, bubble (see Bull an edict), or perh. corrupted fr. billon base coin, LL. billio bullion. Cf. Billon, Billet a stick.]

1. Uncoined gold or silver in the mass.

Note: Properly, the precious metals are called bullion, when smelted and not perfectly refined, or when refined, but in bars, ingots or in any form uncoined, as in plate. The word is often often used to denote gold and silver, both coined and uncoined, when reckoned by weight and in mass, including especially foreign, or uncurrent, coin.

2. Base or uncurrent coin. [Obs.] And those which eld's strict doom did disallow, And damm for bullion, go for current now. Sylvester.

3. Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on bridles, saddles, etc. [Obs.] The clasps and bullions were worth a thousand pound. Skelton.

4. Heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose cords are prominent.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 April 2025

BRIGHT

(adjective) made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow; “bright silver candlesticks”; “a burnished brass knocker”; “she brushed her hair until it fell in lustrous auburn waves”; “rows of shining glasses”; “shiny black patents”


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