piaster
Americannoun
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a former coin of Turkey, one 100th of a lira: replaced by the kurus in 1933.
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a monetary unit of Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria, one 100th of a pound.
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a former monetary unit of South Vietnam: replaced by the dong in 1976.
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the former peso or dollar of Spain and Spanish America.
Etymology
Origin of piaster
First recorded in 1605–15; from French piastre, from Italian piastra “thin sheet of metal, silver coin” (short for piastra d'argento, literally, “plate of silver”), akin to piastro plaster
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.
"It is time for the 5 piaster loaf to increase in price," Sisi said at the opening of a food production plant.
From Reuters • Aug. 3, 2021
The pound gained 1 piaster to 5.96 to the dollar in the same period.
From BusinessWeek • Jul. 11, 2011
Sugar, textiles, and tires vanished from shelves, and the piaster, normally worth 73 to the dollar, was being traded for as much as 160.
From Time Magazine Archive
At one point the piaster fell to 2,000 to $1; the rate was 800 to $1 only a few days earlier.
From Time Magazine Archive
They could be bought in the markets for a piaster, or less than five cents.
From Under Four Administrations From Cleveland to Taft by Straus, Oscar S.
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.
