1750–60, after the name Joannes (John V, of Portugal) in the coin's legend. See John
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A full johannes was called a "half-joe," and a double johannes was called a "joe."
From The Stronghold A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People by Haynie, Miriam
Write the following names and words properly: "tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, saturn;—christ, christian, christmas, christendom, michaelmas, indian, bacchanals;—Easthampton, omega, johannes, aonian, levitical, deuteronomy, european."
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold
The moidore was worth six pieces of eight, the pistole four, the johannes eight.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin)
To this place I brought with me from my last master's, two johannes, three old Spanish dollars, and two thousand of coppers, besides five pounds of my wife's money.
From A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself by Smith, Venture
Thou hast swept the pavilion of my niece of its mistress, no less than my purse of its johannes.
From The Water-Witch or, the Skimmer of the Seas by Cooper, James Fenimore
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.
