assignat

[ as-ig-nat; French a-see-nya ]

/ ˈæs ɪgˌnæt; French a siˈnya /

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noun, plural as·sig·nats

[as-ig-nats; French a-see-nya]. /ˈæs ɪgˌnæts; French a siˈnya/. French History.

one of the notes issued as paper currency from 1789 to 1796 by the revolutionary government on the security of confiscated lands.

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Origin of assignat

1780–90; <French <Latin assignātus assigned (past participle of assignāre). See assign, -ate¹

Words nearby assignat

assiduity, assiduous, assiduously, assign, assignable, assignat, assignation, assigned counsel, assigned risk, assigned sex, assignee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use assignat in a sentence

He would not even change an assignat to take for what I drank, which was not a little; and I therefore owe him for it.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442|Various
And yet Cambon steadily insisted that the security for the assignat currency was perfect.
Fiat Money Inflation in France|Andrew Dickson White
Ominous it was when persons compelled to take this loan found for an assignat of one hundred francs only one franc was allowed.
Fiat Money Inflation in France|Andrew Dickson White
The lettering in the corners proclaims death to any one who should dare to counterfeit the assignat.
Harper's Young People, January 11, 1881|Various

On several assignat-fans the money card, the seven of diamonds, is introduced, its significance being sufficiently obvious.
History of the Fan|George Woolliscroft Rhead

British Dictionary definitions for assignat

assignat

/ (ˈæsɪɡˌnæt, ˌæsɪˈnjɑː, French asiɲa) /

noun

French history the paper money issued by the Constituent Assembly in 1789, backed by the confiscated land of the Church and the émigrés

Word Origin for assignat

C18: from French, from Latin assignātum something appointed; see assign

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012