Oban

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A seaside port and holiday town on the west coast of Scotland, known as a gateway to the Hebrides
2. A coastal town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, that serves as a ferry hub for the nearby Inner Hebrides islands
3. Scottish seaside town in the Argyll region, popular with visitors and noted for its harbour and distillery

Etymology: The word "oban" is an archaic form of "obang," and both come from Japanese "大判" ("ōban"), a term for a large oval gold coin. In Japan these coins were issued in the early modern period and were used as currency rather than as ordinary small change, which is why the name ended up attached to English writing about them. The English word inherited the Japanese sense directly: it names the gold coin itself, not a general idea of value or wealth. Its meaning stayed fixed to that specific object, so a reader meeting it is being told about a particular piece of Japanese money.