shroff

American  

[shrof] / ʃrɒf /

noun

1. (in India) a banker or moneychanger.

2. (in East Asia, especially China) a local expert employed to test the purity of a coin’s metal content, especially silver or gold.

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verb (used with object)

1. to test (coins) to ascertain the purity of the metal content, especially silver or gold.

shroff British  

/ ʃrɒf /

noun

1. (in China, Japan, etc, esp formerly) an expert employed to separate counterfeit money or base coin from the genuine

2. (in India) a moneychanger or banker

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verb

1. (tr) to test (money) and separate out the counterfeit and base

Etymology

Origin of shroff

First recorded in 1610–20; earlier sharoffe from Portuguese xarrafo, probably from Gujarati śaraf, from Arabic ṣayrāfī “moneychanger”

Example Sentences

And whenever Hersey needs an idea and can't find one�it happens all the time�he uses a big word instead: cangue, coffle, fulvous, hame, jingal, liripipe, m�tayer, panyar, purlin, psora, shroff, sycee.*

From Time Magazine Archive

The shroff was clicking on his abacus, and left off snicking the beads up and down to remark casually that the compradore had gone.

From Civilization Tales of the Orient by La Motte, Ellen Newbold

She recognised Withers and the shroff and came forward.

From Civilization Tales of the Orient by La Motte, Ellen Newbold

But the old man—— The little shroff, however, who was also filled with terror, did not think they were safe at all.

From Civilization Tales of the Orient by La Motte, Ellen Newbold

The Red Wand stood by the abacus, rattling the brown beads with flying fingers, like a shroff.

From Dragon's blood by Rideout, Henry Milner