drachma
Americannoun
plural
drachmas, drachmae-
a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of modern Greece until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 lepta. dr., drch.
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the principal silver coin of ancient Greece.
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a small unit of weight in ancient Greece, approximately equivalent to the U.S. and British apothecaries' dram.
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any of various modern weights, especially a dram.
noun
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the former standard monetary unit of Greece, divided into 100 lepta; replaced by the euro in 2002
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another name for dram
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a silver coin of ancient Greece
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a unit of weight in ancient Greece
Other Word Forms
- drachmal adjective
Etymology
Origin of drachma
1520–30; < Latin < Greek drachmḗ, probably equivalent to drach- base of drássesthai to grasp + -mē noun suffix (hence literally, handful)
Explanation
In Greece, the drachma was once the national currency. The Greek drachma was replaced by the euro in 2002. The drachma has a long history in Greece, going all the way back to 800 BC. The word derives from a Greek root meaning "to grasp" or "a handful," and the ancient drachma was originally a handful or fistfull of metal sticks used to buy and trade. The modern version of this currency was a variety of metal coins in various denominations. The drachma was retired officially in 2002 and replaced with the euro.
Vocabulary lists containing drachma
Ancient Greece - Introductory
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Ancient Greece - Middle School and High School
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Novel Study: Julius Caesar, Act 3
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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.
The word evolved to drachma, the name of Greece’s currency before the euro.
From Economist • Dec. 13, 2017
The Greeks were mining for silver to make their beautiful drachma coins.
From Slate • Aug. 21, 2015
Point 4 appears to refer to the revelation that Syriza’s Left Platform hatched a plan to return to the drachma, after last month’s Euro summit where the bailout plan was agreed.
From The Guardian • Jul. 27, 2015
"But there are reasons to think that reintroduction of the drachma and devaluation would do less for Greece than devaluation did for Argentina. Greece is less open, it exports less," he said.
From Reuters • Jul. 22, 2015
The only coin she had was her silver Athenian drachma, which didn’t make a great tribute.
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.
