임금

Korean

Etymology 1

First attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 님〯금〮 (Yale: nǐmkúm), a compound of 님〯 (nǐm, “lord”) and the cranberry morpheme *금〮 (*kum). The latter apparently is a remnant of Old Korean 今 (*kum), an element found in the Sillan royal title 泥師今 (*nisokum) or 尼叱今 (*niskum). The 今 element has also been connected to Japanese 君 (kimi), possibly as an ancient loanword from Koreanic.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈi(ː)mɡɯm]
• Phonetic hangul: [임(ː)금]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	imgeum
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	imgeum
McCune–Reischauer?	imgŭm
Yale Romanization?	īmkum

Noun

임금 • (imgeum)

1. king; monarch

See also

• 왕(王) (wang, “king”)
• 군주(君主) (gunju, “monarch”)
• 황제(皇帝) (hwangje, “emperor”)

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 賃金, from 賃 (“labor”) + 金 (“money”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈi(ː)mɡɯm]
• Phonetic hangul: [임(ː)금]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	imgeum
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	imgeum
McCune–Reischauer?	imgŭm
Yale Romanization?	īmkum

Noun

임금 • (imgeum) (hanja 賃金)

1. wages

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 林檎.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [imɡɯm]
• Phonetic hangul: [임금]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	imgeum
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	imgeum
McCune–Reischauer?	imgŭm
Yale Romanization?	imkum

Noun

임금 • (imgeum) (hanja 林檎)

1. Synonym of 능금 (neunggeum)