pecuniary

American  

[pi-kyoo-nee-er-ee] / pɪˈkyu niˌɛr i /

adjective

1. of or relating to money.

   pecuniary difficulties.

2. consisting of or given or exacted in money or monetary payments.

   pecuniary tributes.

3. (of a crime, violation, etc.) involving a money penalty or fine.

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pecuniary British  

/ pɪˈkjuːnɪərɪ /

adjective

1. consisting of or relating to money

2. law (of an offence) involving a monetary penalty

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Synonym Usage

See financial.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pecuniarily
  adverb
• nonpecuniary
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pecuniary

First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin pecūniārius, derivative of pecūnia “property, money (wealth in cattle),” derivative of pecū “flock”; see peculiar, fief ( def. )

Explanation

If something has to do with money, it's pecuniary. If your grandfather's antique watch has pecuniary value, it's worth money — you could sell it for cash if you weren't sentimentally attached to keeping it. Pecuniary might seem like a peculiar word for talking about money, but it all adds up when you learn that it was the worth of the cattle, or pecū in Latin, that gave pecuniary its meaning. In Roman times, livestock served as money in making transactions. Some cultures still have economies based on cattle, but most modern societies have a pecuniary system based on, well, money.

Example Sentences

And all of that’s only from chapter seven, “Dress as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture.”

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2019

Pecuniary provision for those who had suffered in the action, or for their families, was also tendered.

From Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812 Volume 1 by Mahan, A. T. (Alfred Thayer)

Pecuniary help, however, she could not give, nor had he at this time any rich friends upon whom he could call for the pittance he required.

From From Canal Boy to President Or the Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield by Alger, Horatio

Next comes a page, headed "Pecuniary Distress of Charles the First," and containing a transcript of a receipt for some plate lent to the King in 1643.

From Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume I (of 10) by Lockhart, J. G. (John Gibson)

To get the Clergy out of their Pecuniary holes, The sole and only cure I see Would be—a Cure of Souls!

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, June 25, 1892 by Various