First recorded in 1875–80; from Romanian: literally, “lion”; based on Turkish arslanlι ( arslan “lion” + -lι adjective suffix), a name given to the Dutch rijksdaalder, which circulated in the later Ottoman Empire and bore the image of a lion ( see lion ( def. ))
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Romania's currency, the leu, fell to a record low against the euro ahead of Tuesday's vote.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
The Romanian leu was down 0.1% versus the euro on the day.
From Reuters ● Jun. 12, 2023
Otter stated that he had directed the state’s Department of Administration to immediately pay for the entire program through the end of fiscal year 2013-2014 in leu of the withheld federal payments.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 12, 2015
In Sighisoara, young and old lined up in the rain to pay one leu for truly piping-hot covrigi at the sales window of Gigi.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2014
Through a skein of fog, the sun gleamed as hard and silver as a freshly minted leu.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
At Leu Leu, the new California restaurant from “Top Chef” alum Claudette Zepeda, the dessert menu reads like a dream.
From Salon ● May 24, 2025
"I'm convinced that if she grows up with three grandfathers, then it will be something very natural for her," Leu said.
From Reuters ● Jul. 1, 2022
“To Enriquez,” our reviewer, Chelsea Leu, commented, “there’s pleasure in the perverse.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2022
I am also writing about my grandmother, Rosa Leu, born in the Swiss Alps, who was for decades nurse-in-charge at the original Kaiser Hospital in Fontana, starting in 1952.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2020
"You may place the brazier outside the door; sprinkle whatever is necessary upon it, and then return to the kitchen and sleep, my good Leu."
From The Patriot Piccolo Mondo Antico by Fogazzaro, Antonio
If you don’t splurge on an airport lei greeting, pick one up at a local Target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Since the crisis erupted, the interest rates at which Romania borrows have risen, and the lei currency has depreciated against the euro, which reached an all-time high of 5.21 Romanian lei on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
He added a bookshelf, filling it with items, such as Daniel’s boyhood rock collection and a lei from their trip to Maui.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025
In return he promised monthly top-up payments of 5,000 Moldovan lei to pensioners, or about £200.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2024
He gathers my hair into his hands and caresses the back of my neck before letting the lei fall into place.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
