sesterce

American  

[ses-turs] / ˈsɛs tɜrs /

noun

1. a silver coin of ancient Rome, the quarter of a denarius, equal to 2½ asses: introduced in the 3rd century b.c.

---

sesterce British  

/ sɛˈstɜːtɪəs, ˈsɛstɛːs /

noun

1. a silver or, later, bronze coin of ancient Rome worth a quarter of a denarius

---

Etymology

Origin of sesterce

1590–1600; < Latin sēstertius, equivalent to sēs- half-unit ( see sesqui-) + tertius third (i.e., 2 units and half a 3rd one equal 2½ asses)

Example Sentences

A Sabine would use up a year to get in a sesterce from a frog pond.

From Andivius Hedulio Adventures of a Roman Nobleman in the Days of the Empire by White, Edward Lucas

In the next, he says how a certain house which Atticus had intended to purchase had been secured by Fonteius for 130,000 sesterces—something over £1000, taking the sesterce at 2 d.

From The Life of Cicero Volume One by Trollope, Anthony

His domestic economy was strict and simple, the accounts being kept to a sesterce.

From Caesar: a Sketch by Froude, James Anthony

Never a sesterce will I get out of him!

From A Friend of Caesar A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. by Davis, William Stearns

I find I spend every sesterce I have, and all I can borrow.

From A Friend of Caesar A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. by Davis, William Stearns