bullion

American  

[bool-yuhn] / ˈbʊl yən /

noun

1. gold or silver considered in mass rather than in value.

2. gold or silver in the form of bars or ingots.

3. Also called bullion fringe.  a thick trimming of cord covered with gold or silver thread, for decorating uniforms.

4. embroidery or lace worked with gold wire or gold or silver cords.

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bullion British  

/ ˈbʊljən /

noun

1. gold or silver in mass

2. gold or silver in the form of bars and ingots, suitable for further processing

3. Also called: bullion fringe.  a thick gold or silver wire or fringed cord used as a trimming, as on military uniforms

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Other Word Forms

• bullionless adjective

Etymology

Origin of bullion

1300–50; Middle English: melted mass of gold or silver < Anglo-Latin bulliōn- (stem of bulliō ) in same sense (< Anglo-French bullion mint), literally, a boiling, equivalent to bull ( īre ) to bubble, boil ¹ + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

During the inflation years of the early 1980s, sailors locked away for months on nuclear-missile submarines killed time talking up gold bullion and raw diamonds.

From The Wall Street Journal

Any coin issued under the laws of any state or any gold, silver, platinum or palladium bullion of a certain fineness, if a trustee keeps physical possession of it, are not included.

From MarketWatch

Investors funneled record amounts of cash in recent months into an array of exchange-traded funds linked to bullion.

From The Wall Street Journal

South Africa’s gold-mining sector has churned out nearly half the gold ever produced, and used in bullion and jewelry.

From The Wall Street Journal

A working gold toilet seems a much better use of bullion than, say, making it into bars and then just having it sit, useless, in vaults in Fort Knox.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• buck
• currency
• investment
• note
• payment
• refund
• reserve
• security
• stock
• supply