This article from Business Insider discusses how several of the world's currencies got their names. Some interesting facts
here, some I wasn't aware of. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor
From country to country, monetary units vary nearly as much as the cultures and languages that use them. But have you ever wondered why
a dollar is called a "dollar"? A recent post on the Oxford Dictionary's OxfordWords blog explained the origins of the names
of the world's most common currencies. In the slides below, find out where these everyday words come from.
Dollar
The dollar is the world's most common currency, used in the US, Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, and Singapore and elsewhere.
According to OxfordWords, the Flemish or Low German word "joachimsthal" referred to Joachim's Valley, where silver was
once mined. Coins minted from this mine became "joachimsthaler," which was later shortened to "thaler" and which
eventually morphed into "dollar."
Peso
"Peso" literally means "weight" in Spanish.
Lira
The Italian and Turkish "lira" come from the Latin word "libra," meaning "pound."
Rial
The Latin word "regalis," meaning "royal," is the origin for the Omani and Iranian "rial."
Similarly, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen all use a currency called the "riyal." Before the euro, Spain used "reals"
as well.
Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, and Korean won
The Chinese character "圓," meaning "round" or "round coin," is responsible for the name of the
Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, and Korean won.
Dinar
Jordan, Algeria, Serbia, and Kuwait all call their currency "dinar."
This is a pretty straightforward truncation of the Latin word "denarius," which was a silver coin used in ancient Rome.
Forint
The Hungarian forint comes from the Italian word "fiorino," a gold coin from Florence.
The fiorino had a flower, or "fiore" in Italian, stamped on it.
To read the complete article, see:
How the world's currencies got their names
(www.businessinsider.com/how-currencies-got-their-names-2016-3)
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
at this address: whomren@gmail.com
To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS)
All Rights Reserved.
NBS Home Page
Contact the NBS webmaster
|