denarius
Americannoun
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denarii
plural
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a silver coin and monetary unit of ancient Rome, first issued in the latter part of the 3rd century b.c., that fluctuated in value and sometimes appeared as a bronze coin.
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a gold coin of ancient Rome equal to 25 silver denarii; aureus.
noun
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a silver coin of ancient Rome, often called a penny in translation
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a gold coin worth 25 silver denarii
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of denarius
First recorded in 1565–85; from Latin dēnārius, originally an adjective: “containing ten (asses)”; see origin at denary
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.
See Examples For:
Ms Hardy said they range "across the reign of 14 Emperors and 1 Empress and include a previously unrecorded coin - a denarius of Emperor Tetricus I".
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2023
Its production was also a proxy for a central economic activity, the use of silver in the Romans’ standard silver coin, the denarius.
From New York Times ● May 14, 2018
After 20 years digging up denarius coins on Time Team, he surely knows more than most about the Roman occupation of England.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2015
In Augustus’s time, a silver coin called a denarius was in use throughout the empire.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
Caracalla issued a new silver coin, the Antoninianus, one and a half times the weight of the denarius of the day.
From A History of Rome to 565 A. D. by Arthur Edward Romilly Boak
The rest of the coins show six emperors and two of their wives, with the most recent denarii dating to AD175-6.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025
Most of the coins are silver denarii, minted in Rome and dating from the time of the Roman Republic in 157 BC up to Nero's reign between AD 54–68.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2024
"In terms of spending value, a Roman legionary soldier was paid 300 denarii a year - so these coins represent no more than two to three days' legionary pay."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2019
But under the emperor Nero, starting in 64 A.D., the proportion of silver was reduced to 80 percent and the state made a tidy profit by recycling the all-silver denarii into debased ones.
From New York Times ● May 14, 2018
“Three denarii from Camp Jupiter. Five dollars Canadian.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
