billon

American  

[bil-uhn] / ˈbɪl ən /

noun

1. an alloy used in coinage, consisting of gold or silver with a larger amount of base metal.

2. an alloy of silver with copper or the like, used for coins of small denomination.

3. any coin struck from such an alloy.

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billon British  

/ ˈbɪlən /

noun

1. an alloy consisting of gold or silver and a base metal, usually copper, used esp for coinage

2. any coin made of such an alloy

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Etymology

Origin of billon

1720–30; < French: debased metal, originally ingot, equivalent to Middle French bille log ( billet ² ) + -on noun suffix

Example Sentences

MedPAC estimates that this has increased insurer payments by some 14% to 21% in recent years, amounting to some $76 billon this year.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the year, sales rose 5.6% to $75.05 billon.

From MarketWatch

The delay suggests that Meta and EssilorLuxottica are “unable to produce these smartglasses at scale,” Billon says.

From The Wall Street Journal

Food delivery operating loss per order is expected to rise in 4Q, resulting in a segment loss of around 13 billon yuan, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ouattara, 83, won 89.8% of the vote, the electoral commission said on Monday, and businessman Jeal-Louis Billon came a distant second with only 3.09%.

From BBC