piaster

or pi·as·tre

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

/ piˈæs tər, -ˈɑ stər /

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.

Words nearby piaster

pianoforte, pianola, piarist, pias., piassava, piaster, piastre, piat, piatigorsk, piatigorsky, piatra neamt

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 piastre

The rum of commerce (from 22 to 23 degrees) is sold at one Spanish piastre the gallon.
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I|Karl Ritter von Scherzer
It was possible to hire a furnished room for forty piastres per month, the value of a piastre being about four and twopence.
A Lady's Captivity among Chinese Pirates in the Chinese Seas|Fanny Loviot
He is a bright, capable mozo, who would walk twenty miles on his hands to gain a piastre.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 11, No. 22, January, 1873|Various
Then the Englishman stood up, gave me a piastre, and offered his arm to Carmen, as if she couldn't have walked alone.
Carmen|Prosper Merimee

The 1⁄40 of a piastre is popularly called a para and the native population generally reckon in paras.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for piastre

piastre

piaster

/ (pɪˈæstə) /

noun

(formerly) the standard monetary unit of South Vietnam, divided into 100 cents

a fractional monetary unit of Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria worth one hundredth of a pound; formerly also used in the Sudan

another name for kuruş

a rare word for piece of eight

Word Origin for piastre

C17: from French piastre, from Italian piastra d'argento silver plate; related to Italian piastro plaster

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