pistole
Americannoun
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a former gold coin of Spain, equal to two escudos.
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any of various former gold coins of Europe, as the louis d'or.
noun
Etymology
Origin of pistole
1585–95; < Middle French, back formation from pistolet the coin
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.
As for the prices paid for the lots—it is surprising to find a foreign coin, the Spanish pistole, as the basic unit of currency.
From Seaport in Virginia George Washington's Alexandria by Moore, Gay Montague
That every house should pay one pistole, which would monthly amount to 18,000 pistoles.
From Fox's Book of Martyrs Or A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs by Foxe, John
Whoever carries to England, twenty-seven English shillings, and brings back one moidore, of full weight, is a gainer of ninepence Irish; in a guinea, the advantage is threepence, and twopence in a pistole.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 09 Contributions to The Tatler, The Examiner, The Spectator, and The Intelligencer by Swift, Jonathan
A pistole was a gold coin used chiefly in France and Spain.
From Memoirs of a Cavalier A Military Journal of the Wars in Germany, and the Wars in England. From the Year 1632 to the Year 1648. by Defoe, Daniel
"Nothing, but enable him to obtain what these debtors who can pay for it obtain,—a chamber, � la pistole."
From The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 5 of 6 by Sue, Eugène
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.
