franc

[frangk, frahn]

noun

plural

francs 

1. an aluminum or nickel coin and monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centimes. F., f., Fr, fr.

2. any of the monetary units of various other nations and territories, as Liechtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, equal to 100 centimes.

3. a former silver coin of France, first issued under Henry III.

4. a former monetary unit of Algeria, Guinea, and Morocco.

franc

/ fræŋk, frɑ̃ /

noun

1. Also called: French franc. the former standard monetary unit of France, most French dependencies, Andorra, and Monaco, divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002

2. the former standard monetary unit of Belgium ( Belgian franc ) and Luxembourg ( Luxembourg franc ), divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002

3. Also called: Swiss franc. the standard monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, divided into 100 centimes

4. Also called: franc CFA.  CFA franc.  franc of the African financial community. the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 centimes, of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo

5. the standard monetary unit of Burundi ( Burundi franc ), Comoros ( Comorian franc ), Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre; Congolese franc ), Djibouti ( Djibouti franc ), Guinea ( Guinea franc ), Madagascar ( franc malgache ), Rwanda ( Rwanda franc ), and French Polynesia and New Caledonia ( French Pacific franc )

Word History and Origins

Origin of franc¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frank, from Middle French franc, so called because the coin was first inscribed with the name of the king as Medieval Latin Rēx Francōrum “King of the Franks”; Frank ¹ ( def. ); frank ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The package includes an investment of up to 150 million Swiss francs in digital transformation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Swiss franc was lower against the euro and is at risk of extending its recent pullback if it remains in demand as a funding currency in carry trades.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The increase was driven by 11.7 billion francs in net new money inflows and strong stock markets, which offset the hit from a stronger franc against the dollar and the sale of its Brazilian subsidiary.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The association said it was "relieved" following Friday's deal, although the strength of the Swiss franc against the dollar was still a worry as it makes Swiss products more expensive for American consumers.

Read more on Barron's

Investors welcomed the set of result, pushing Richemont's share price up by nearly eight percent to 174 Swiss francs in early Friday business on the Zurich stock exchange.

Read more on Barron's