임금

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.^[1]

• (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.

임금 • (imgeum)

1. king; monarch

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

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

• (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.

임금 • (imgeum) (hanja 賃金)

1. wages

Sino-Korean word from 林檎.

• (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.

임금 • (imgeum) (hanja 林檎)

1. synonym of 능금 (neunggeum)