dollar

Definition

Official designation for currency in some parts of the world, including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Its symbol is $.

Etymology

Attested since the mid-16th century, from early Dutch daler, daalder, from German Taler, Thaler (“dollar”), earlier Joachimsthaler, literally “of Joachimstal”, the town where the original dollars were minted. The name means “(Saint) Joachim's valley”, from Joachim + Tal. Possibly reinforced by the Dutch leeuwendaalder, which was also used in the American colonies. Doublet of taler /thaler and tolar.

Example Sentences

• "But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short."
• "Yeah, but why? Lincoln doesn’t need the penny for notoriety. He’s everywhere. We put him on novelty bandages, cup-and-ball games, and creepy Chia Pets. And you know where else we put him? The five-dollar bill! You know, the thing that’s worth 500 times more than the penny!"
• "The value of the peso has plummeted 858% against the US dollar over the past five years as the central bank printed more of the currency to help the country’s spendthrift government avoid defaulting on its debts. […] There’s another significant snag in Milei’s plan: Argentina doesn’t have enough dollars to ditch the peso."

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