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livre

American  
[lee-ver, lee-vruh] / ˈli vər, ˈli vrə /

noun

livres plural
  1. a former money of account and group of coins of France, issued in coin form first in gold, then in silver, finally in copper, and discontinued in 1794.


livre British  
/ livrə, ˈliːvrə /

noun

  1. a former French unit of money of account, equal to 1 pound of silver

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of livre

1545–55; < Middle French, Old French < Latin lībra balance, pound

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

This is the challenge the village du livre must now confront.

From Washington Post Dec. 26, 2021

Juan Gris' "Le livre" went under the hammer for 10.3 million pounds, just short of the low estimate of 12 million.

From Reuters Feb. 8, 2012

And whether, for all its show-bateauing, this livre isn't really a load of aurochs.

From The Guardian Oct. 13, 2010

A livre was worth about three cents now.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

From the poor Duke of Savoy not a livre tournois was to be expected.

From Corse de Leon, Volume I (of 2) or, The Brigand; a Romance by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)

The crown was acquired by King Louis IX of France in Constantinople in 1239 for 135,000 livres - nearly half France's annual expenditure at the time.

From BBC Dec. 13, 2024

Few places were struck more severely than Beaune, the birthplace of Gamay, where records show a drop in the annual local wine monopoly bid from 65 livres in 1394 to just 27 livres in 1400.

From Salon Aug. 26, 2024

William Templeton Franklin arranged for her release and Mrs. Jay made a note that he had fronted 60 livres, likely the charge for Abigail’s meals, to secure her return.

From New York Times Nov. 23, 2021

Unfortunately, the annual bill for annuities and wages of lifetime offices came to ninety million livres.

From The New Yorker Jul. 29, 2019

“You’ll easily get three hundred fifty livres for boots,” they told him, “if you don’t try to impress anyone!”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

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