drachma

[ drak-muh, drahk- ]

noun,plural drach·mas, drach·mae

[drak-mee, drahk-]. /ˈdræk mi, ˈdrɑk-/.

a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of modern Greece until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 lepta. Abbreviation: dr., drch.
the principal silver coin of ancient Greece.

a small unit of weight in ancient Greece, approximately equivalent to the U.S. and British apothecaries' dram.
any of various modern weights, especially a dram.

Origin of drachma

1520–30; <Latin <Greek drachmḗ, probably equivalent to drach- base of drássesthai to grasp + -mē noun suffix (hence literally, handful)

Also drachm.

Other words from drachma

drachmal, adjective

Words Nearby drachma

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

How to use drachma in a sentence

They reckon that the Greeks will use their votes to demand a return to the drachma and trigger a stampede on the banks.
Will Greece Leave the Euro Zone? | Louise Armitstead | June 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But a new drachma is likely to lose at least half of its value compared with the euro.
Will Greece Leave the Euro Zone? | Louise Armitstead | June 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
“This is not just about the euro or the drachma,” Samaras told a Greek reporter last week.
Greek Elections May Force Euro Withdrawal | Barbie Latza Nadeau | June 10, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
And didn't I put down a solid drachma for you at the feet of Aphrodite's statue, when it was her feast the other day?
The Works of Lucian of Samosata, v. 4 | Lucian of Samosata
There, too, a Sicilian medimnus of barley is sold for a drachma, and one of wheat for nine Alexandrine obols.
The Histories of Polybius, Vol. II (of 2) | Polybius

An assarion is a small Roman copper coin worth one tenth of a drachma, or about an hour's wages for an agricultural laborer.
The World English Bible (WEB), The Old Testament, Complete | Various
A drachma is a Greek silver coin worth about one Roman denarius, or about a day's wages for an agricultural laborer.
The World English Bible (WEB), The Old Testament, Complete | Various
Half a silver shekel was a drachma, and this was therefore the true ancestor of our shilling.
India: What can it teach us? | F. Max Mller

British Dictionary definitions for drachma

drachma

/ (ˈdrækmə) /

nounplural -mas or -mae (-miː)

the former standard monetary unit of Greece, divided into 100 lepta; replaced by the euro in 2002
US another name for dram (def. 2)

a silver coin of ancient Greece
a unit of weight in ancient Greece

Origin of drachma

C16: from Latin, from Greek drakhmē a handful, from drassesthai to seize

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

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