ECU

[ ey-koo or, sometimes, ee-see-yoo ]

/ eɪˈku or, sometimes, ˈiˈsiˈyu /

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noun

a former money of account of the European Common Market that was used in international finance until the euro was adopted and was based on the combined prorated values of the currencies of member nations.

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Origin of ECU

E(uropean) C(urrency) U(nit), perhaps with play on écu

Other definitions for ECU (2 of 3)

écu

[ ey-kyoo; French ey-ky ]

/ eɪˈkyu; French eɪˈkü /

noun, plural é·cus

[ey-kyooz; French ey-ky]. /eɪˈkyuz; French eɪˈkü/.

the shield carried by a mounted man-at-arms in the Middle Ages.

any of various gold and silver coins of France, issued from the 13th through the 18th centuries, bearing the figure of a shield.

Origin of écu

1695–1705; <French; Old French escu <Latin scūtum shield

Other definitions for ECU (3 of 3)

E.C.U.

abbreviation

English Church Union.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use ECU in a sentence

Fifty thousand gold ecus are promised to whomsoever will deliver the said Sieur of Coligny, dead or alive.
The Pocket Bible or Christian the Printer|Eugne Sue
Leonardo was given a pension of seven ecus de France per year and a residence near Amboise.
Castles and Chateaux of Old Touraine and the Loire Country|Francis Miltoun
Panurge then, without any more ado, threw a large leathern purse stuffed with gold crowns (ecus au soleil) among them.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete.|Francois Rabelais
You and your soldiers had taken more than fifty ecus worth of forage from me, as well as a cow and two sheep.
Original Short Stories of Maupassant, Volume 1|Guy de Maupassant

It is believed their loss was more than thirty millions of ecus.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete|Duc de Saint-Simon

British Dictionary definitions for ECU (1 of 2)

ECU

/ (ˈeɪkjuː, sometimes ˈiːˈsiːˈjuː) /

n acronym for

European Currency Unit: a former unit of currency based on the composite value of several different currencies in the European Union and functioning as both the reserve asset and the accounting unit of the European Monetary System; replaced by the euro in 1999

British Dictionary definitions for ECU (2 of 2)

écu

/ (eɪˈkjuː, French eky) /

noun

any of various former French gold or silver coins

a small shield

Word Origin for écu

C18: from Old French escu, from Latin scūtum shield

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