coinage
Americannoun
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the act, process, or right of making coins.
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the categories, types, or quantity of coins issued by a nation.
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coins collectively; currency.
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the act or process of inventing words; neologizing.
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an invented or newly created word or phrase.
“Ecdysiast” is a coinage of H. L. Mencken.
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anything made, invented, or fabricated.
noun
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coins collectively
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the act of striking coins
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the currency of a country
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the act of inventing something, esp a word or phrase
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a newly invented word, phrase, usage, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coinage
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Middle French word coignaige. See coin, -age
Explanation
Coinage refers to metal money, or coins. A numismatist — that's the technical term for a coin collector — is interested in coinage. Coinage is also the process of coming up with a new word. You probably wouldn't refer to the dimes jingling in your pocket as coinage, since this term tends to be used for coins in a more collective way, as in the coinage of foreign countries. Another way to use coinage is for the process of inventing (or coining) a new word. Shakespeare is famous for a lot of literary achievements, including his coinage of words like "lackluster," "bandit," and "bedazzled."
Vocabulary lists containing coinage
30 GRE Words Beginning with "B" & "C"
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Frindle
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This Week In Culture: August 8–14, 2020
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Men are now joining women in obsessing over trimester zero, a coinage referring to the months leading up to conception.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The coinage is a nod to Brünnhilde, a soprano role stereotypically portrayed as a robust figure in a horned helmet.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
King David I of Scotland, who reigned from 1124 until 1153, introduced the country's first coinage.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025
It was presumably dropped into the federal melting pot to become the first but unacknowledged coinage of California gold.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2025
"King Robb needs his own coinage as well," he declared, "and White Harbor is the very place to mint it."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
