piaster

or pi·as·tre

[pee-as-ter, -ah-ster]

noun

a former coin of Turkey, the 100th part of a lira: replaced by the kurus in 1933.

a monetary unit of Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria, the 100th part of a pound.

a former monetary unit of South Vietnam: replaced by the dong in 1976.

the former peso or dollar of Spain and Spanish America.

Nearby words

Origin of piaster

1605–15; < French piastre < Italian piastra thin sheet of metal, silver coin (short for piastra d'argento, literally, plate of silver), akin to piastro plaster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for piaster

Then the two knights had to be removed to a sick-room and infirmary, for they needed a doctor and piaster to cure their wounds.
Four Arthurian Romances|Chretien DeTroyes
This done, he asks for a piaster; and some one tells him that he shall have it if he will put out his hand and take it.
Ten Thousand Wonderful Things|Edmund Fillingham King
After thirty-three years of residence, I am still trying to get some idea of what a piaster is.
The Red Cross in Peace and War|Clara Barton
All my trouble, all the hard work, and not a piaster, not a piaster!
The Carpet from Bagdad|Harold MacGrath

We got down from our horse, went around carelessly, and slipped a cherek (a five piaster piece) into his fingers.
The Red Cross in Peace and War|Clara Barton

Word Origin and History for piaster

piaster

also piastre, 1620s, "Spanish dollar, piece of eight," also used as the name of a monetary unit and coin of Turkey (1610s, in Turkish called ghurush, but originally debased Spanish dollars), from French piastre, from Italian piastra "thin metal plate," short for impiastro "plaster," from Latin emplastrum, from Greek emplastron (see plaster). The Italian word was applied to the Spanish silver peso, later to the Turkish coin based on it. Cf. shinplaster.