bullion

The term 'bullion' has a fascinating journey rooted in the process of metalworking. It originates from the Old French 'bouillon', meaning "a boiling," which itself comes from the Latin verb 'bullire', "to bubble or boil." This directly references the literal act of melting and refining precious metals. The meaning shifted in Anglo-Norman French to denote the place where this boiling occurred (a mint) and then to the product itself—the mass of melted, uncoined gold or silver. Thus, the modern abstract meaning of raw precious metal retains the core logic of its origin: material produced through the process of boiling and melting.

The word 'bullion' is a simplex loanword. It entered English from the Anglo-Norman French 'bullion', meaning a mint or a melting place, which itself likely derived from Old French 'bouillon', meaning a boiling or melting, from 'bouillir' (to boil).