sesterce

[ ses-turs ]

/ ˈsɛs tɜrs /

noun

a silver coin of ancient Rome, the quarter of a denarius, equal to 2½ asses: introduced in the 3rd century b.c.

Nearby words

session, session musician, sessional indemnity, sessionman, sessions, sesterce, sestertium, sestertius, sestet, sestina, sesto san giovanni

Origin of sesterce

1590–1600; < Latin sēstertius, equivalent to sēs- half-unit (see sesqui-) + tertius third (i.e., 2 units and half a 3rd one equal 2½ asses)

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

Examples from the Web for sesterce

And the fourth part of it, consisting of two asses and half of a third, they called "sesterce."
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius
But since I have won every sesterce he owns I must needs pay for his board.
A Friend of Caesar|William Stearns Davis
"You will never get a sesterce of Cornelia's dowry," he declared.
A Friend of Caesar|William Stearns Davis
Once let the mob overtake them, and the lives of all three were not worth a sesterce.
A Friend of Caesar|William Stearns Davis

A sesterce is four and one-half cents so that the possible price of a peach in Rome 1900 years ago was $1.35.
The Peaches of New York|U. P. Hedrick

British Dictionary definitions for sesterce

sesterce

sestertius (sɛˈstɜːtɪəs)

/ (ˈsɛstɛːs) /

noun

a silver or, later, bronze coin of ancient Rome worth a quarter of a denarius

Word Origin for sesterce

C16: from Latin sēstertius a coin worth two and a half asses, from sēmis half + tertius a third

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