argent

See also: Argent

English

Alternative forms

• arg., a. (heraldry)

Etymology

From Middle English argent, from Old French argent (“silver”), from Latin argentum (“white money, silver”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːdʒənt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹd͡ʒənt/
• Hyphenation: ar‧gent

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dʒənt

Noun

argent (countable and uncountable, plural argents)

1. (archaic) The metal silver.
2. (heraldry) The white or silver tincture on a coat of arms.

   argent:  

   • 1909, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry:

     The metals are gold and silver, these being termed "or" and "argent".

3. (obsolete, poetic) Whiteness; anything that is white.
   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “A Dream of Fair Women”, in Poems. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

     The polish'd argent of her breast.

4. A moth of the genus Argyresthia.

Translations

silver or metal tincture

• Afrikaans: silwer (af)
• Albanian: argjent
• Arabic: فِضَّة f (fiḍḍa)
• Armenian: արծաթ (hy) (arcatʻ)
• Basque: zilarra
• Belarusian: серабро (be) n (sjerabró)
• Breton: arc'hant (br) m
• Bulgarian: сребро (bg) n (srebro)
• Catalan: plata (ca) f, argent (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 銀／银 (zh) (yín)

• Cornish: arhans
• Czech: stříbro (cs)
• Danish: sølv (da)
• Dutch: zilver (nl) n
• Esperanto: arĝento (eo)
• Estonian: hõbe (et)
• Faroese: silvur
• Finnish: hopea (fi)
• French: argent (fr) m
• Friulian: arint
• Galician: prata (gl)
• Georgian: ვერცხლი (ka) (vercxli)
• German: Silber (de) n
• Greek: ασημί (el) n (asimí), ασημένιο n (asiménio), αργυρό (el) n (argyró)
• Guaraní: itatĩ
• Hebrew: כֶּסֶף (he) (késef)
• Hindi: चांदी (hi) f (cāndī)
• Hungarian: ezüst (hu)
• Icelandic: silfur (is)
• Indonesian: perak (id)
• Interlingua: argento
• Irish: airgead (ga)
• Italian: argento (it) m
• Japanese: 銀 (ja) (gin)
• Kazakh: күміс (kk) (kümıs)
• Latin: argentum (la)
• Latvian: sudrabs (lv)
• Lithuanian: sidabras (lt)
• Luxembourgish: sëlwer
• Macedonian: сребро n (srebro)
• Malay: argentum, perak (ms)
• Maltese: fidda
• Manx: argid m
• Mongolian: мөнгө (mn) (möngö)
• Norwegian: sølv (no)
• Polish: srebro (pl) n
• Portuguese: prata (pt) f
• Romanian: argint (ro) n
• Russian: серебро́ (ru) n (serebró), арге́нтум m (argéntum)
• Scottish Gaelic: airgead
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сребро n

  Roman: srebro (sh) n

• Slovak: striebro (sk) n
• Slovene: srebro (sl)
• Spanish: plata (es) f
• Swedish: silver (sv) n
• Tagalog: pilak
• Tajik: нуқра (tg) (nuqra)
• Thai: เงิน (th) (ngən)
• Tupinambá: itatinga
• Turkish: gümüş (tr)
• Ukrainian: срібло (uk) n (sriblo)
• Urdu: چاندی f (cāndī)
• Uzbek: kumush (uz), кумуш (kumush)
• Vietnamese: bạc (vi)
• Welsh: arian (cy)
• West Frisian: sulver (fy)
• Zazaki: noqre

Adjective

argent (not comparable)

1. Of silver or silver-coloured.
   • 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 5, lines 49–50:

     Or ask of yonder argent fields above, / Why Jove's Satellites are leſs than Jove?

2. (heraldry): of white or silver tincture on a coat of arms.
   • 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:

     ... when the shield is argent, it is shown in an engraving by being left plain.

Synonyms

• blanc, silver

Translations

of silver or silver coloured

• Esperanto: arĝenta
• Finnish: hopeinen (fi)
• Greek: ασημής (el) (asimís), ασημένιος (el) (asiménios), αργυρός (el) (argyrós) (formally)
• Macedonian: сребрен (srebren)
• Malay: perak (ms), argentum
• Portuguese: prata (pt), prateado (pt), argento (pt), argênteo (pt)
• Romanian: argintiu (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сребрна f, сребрнаста f

  Roman: srebrna f, srebrnasta f

• Spanish: argénteo (es)

of white or silver tincture on a coat of arms

• Czech: stříbrný (cs)
• Dutch: zilver (nl)
• Finnish: hopeinen (fi), hopeanvärinen
• French: argent (fr)
• German: silbern (de)
• Hungarian: ezüst (hu)
• Italian: argento (it)
• Latin: argentius, argenteus (la)
• Macedonian: сребрен (srebren)
• Polish: srebrny (pl)
• Portuguese: branco (pt), prata (pt)
• Romanian: argintiu (ro)
• Russian: серебри́стый (ru) (serebrístyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сребрна f

  Roman: srebrna f

• Slovak: strieborná
• Spanish: plata (es) (blanco (es))
• Swedish: silver (sv)
• Welsh: gwynn (cy)

Derived terms

• argentic
• argentiferous
• argentine
• argentite
• argentous
• argentum nitricum

 

Related terms

• Ag (chemical symbol for silver)

See also

• Appendix:Colors

Quotations

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.

• 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

  Those argent Fields more likely habitants, / Translated Saints, or middle Spirits hold / Betwixt th' Angelical and Human kinde

• 1818, John Keats, “(please specify the page)”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC:

  she did soar / So passionately bright, my dazzled soul / Commingling with her argent spheres did roll / Through clear and cloudy

• 1818, John Keats, “(please specify the page)”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC:

  Pardon me, airy planet, that I prize / One thought beyond thine argent luxuries!

• 1818, Two wings this orb / Possess'd for glory, two fair argent wings — John Keats, Hyperion
• 1819, At length burst in the argent revelry, / With plume, tiara, and all rich array, / Numerous as shadows haunting fairily / The brain — John Keats, The Eve of St Agnes
• 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:

  "A castle argent is certainly my crest," said he blandly.

• 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

  Like John o'Gaunt his name is dear to him, as dear as the coat and crest he toadied for, on a bend sable a spear or steeled argent, honorificabilitudinitatibus, dearer than his glory of greatest shakescene in the country.

• 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

  Keep our flag flying! An eagle gules volant in a field argent displayed.

• 1967, Argent I craft you as the star / Of flower-shut evening — John Berryman, Berryman's Sonnets

Anagrams

• Garnet, Gretna, Tanger, garnet, gerant

Catalan

Chemical element
Ag
Previous: pal·ladi (Pd)
Next: cadmi (Cd)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin argentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ərˈʒen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ərˈʒent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [aɾˈd͡ʒent]

• Audio (Valencian)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ar‧gent

Noun

argent m (uncountable)

1. silver

   Synonym: plata

2. (heraldry) argent
3. (figurative) money, cash

   Synonyms: calé, diner

Derived terms

• argentar
• argenter
• argentí
• argèntic
• argentós

 

Further reading

• “argent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “argent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “argent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “argent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin argentum.

Noun

argent

1. silver

Further reading

• argent in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French argent, from Old French argent, from Latin argentum (according to the TLFi etymological dictionary, a borrowing), itself from Proto-Italic *argentom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm, from *h₂erǵ- (“white”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aʁ.ʒɑ̃/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ar‧gent

Noun

argent m (plural argents)

1. silver
2. money, cash

   Synonyms: oseille, fric, thune, pognon, liquide, blé, peso, rond, pèze, sous, flouze, bifton, biff, mitraille

3. (heraldry) argent (white in heraldry)

Derived terms

• argent blanc
• argent de poche
• argent sale
• blanchiment d’argent
• but en argent
• en avoir pour son argent
• je n’ai pas d’argent
• jeter l’argent par les fenêtres
• la parole est d’argent, le silence est d’or
• le temps, c’est de l’argent
• l’argent ne fait pas le bonheur
• l’argent ne tombe pas du ciel
• l’argent n’a pas d’odeur
• médaille d’argent
• né avec une cuillère d’argent dans la bouche
• né avec une cuillère en argent dans la bouche
• prendre pour argent comptant
• sur un plateau d’argent

 

Related terms

• argenté
• argenter
• argenterie
• argentier
• argentifère
• argentin
• Argentine
• argenture

 

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: ajan
• Louisiana Creole: larjên

Further reading

• “argent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• “argent” in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse.
• “argent” in Dico en ligne Le Robert.

Anagrams

• ganter
• garent
• gérant
• grenat
• ragent
• régnât
• Tanger

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French argent.

Noun

argent m (plural argens or argentz)

1. silver (metal)
2. silver (color)

Descendants

• French: argent
  • Haitian Creole: ajan
  • Louisiana Creole: larjên

Norman

Alternative forms

• ergent (continental Normandy)
• ardjã (Sark)

Etymology

From Old French argent, from Latin argentum (possibly a borrowing), itself from Proto-Italic *argentom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm, from *h₂erǵ- (“white”).

Noun

argent m (uncountable)

1. silver
2. (Jersey) snow-in-summer

Derived terms

• argent comptant (“cash”)
• argentchi (“silversmith”)
• vif-argent (“mercury, quicksilver”)

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan argent, from Latin argentum.

Pronunciation

• (Lengadocian) IPA^(key): [aɾˈd͡ʒen]
• (Lemosin) IPA^(key): [aʁˈd͡zɛ̃ⁿ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Audio (Languedocien)

  (file)

Noun

argent m (plural argents)

1. silver

Old French

Alternative forms

• arjant

Etymology

From Latin argentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (early) /aɾˈd͡ʒent/
• IPA^(key): (late) /aɾˈʒant/

Noun

argent oblique singular, m (oblique plural argenz or argentz, nominative singular argenz or argentz, nominative plural argent)

1. silver (metal)
2. silver (color)

Descendants

• Middle French: argent
  • French: argent
    • Haitian Creole: ajan
    • Louisiana Creole: larjên
• Norman: argent, ergent, ardjã
• Walloon: ardjint
• → Middle English: argent
  • English: argent

Old Occitan

Alternative forms

• argen

Etymology

From Latin argentum.

Noun

argent m (oblique plural argents, nominative singular argents, nominative plural argent)

1. silver

Descendants

• Occitan: argent
• → Old Spanish: argent

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “argentum”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 25: Refonte Apaideutos–Azymus, page 192

Old Spanish

Etymology

From Old Occitan argent, from Latin argentum, from Proto-Italic *argentom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɾˈʒent/

Noun

argent m (usually uncountable)

1. silver

   Synonym: plata f

   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 55v:

     cuemos torno putána la cibdad fidel plena de iudicios : iuſticia manie enella e agora homicidio. To argent es tónado eſcoria to uino es buelto en agua.

     How the faithful city full of righteousness has become a harlot! Justice dwelt within her, but now murder. Your silver has become dross and your wine has turned into water.