solidus

¹ American  

[sol-i-duhs] / ˈsɒl ɪ dəs /

noun

solidi plural

1. a gold coin of ancient Rome, introduced by Constantine and continued in the Byzantine Empire; bezant.

2. (in medieval Europe) a money of account equal to 12 denarii.

3. virgule.

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solidus ² American  

[sol-i-duhs] / ˈsɒl ɪ dəs /

noun

Physical Chemistry.

1. (on a graph of temperature versus composition) the curve connecting the temperatures at which a solid solution is in equilibrium with its vapor and with the liquid solution, and therefore connecting melting temperatures of solid solutions.

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solidus British  

/ ˈsɒlɪdəs /

noun

1. a technical name for slash

2. a gold coin of the Byzantine empire

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solidus Scientific  

/ sŏl′ĭ-dəs /

solidi plural

1. The maximum temperature at which all components of a mixture (such as an alloy) can be in a solid state. Above the solidus some or all of the mixture will be in a liquid state.

2. See illustration at eutectic Compare liquidus

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• solidi
  plural

Etymology

Origin of solidus¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin solidus ( nummus ) a solid (coin), a gold (coin)

Origin of solidus²

1900–05; < Latin: solid

Explanation

When someone uses the word solidus, they're either talking about an ancient gold coin and/or the punctuation mark also known as a slash. Solidus comes from the Late Latin nummus solidus, "solid coin," a reference to thick Byzantine Empire coins made of pure gold. The word shilling evolved from solidus, and later the slash between shillings and pence in English prices (eventually replaced by a decimal point) also came to be called a solidus. You use a solidus whenever you write a date this way: 6/19/1805, or a choice between two options like this: vanilla/chocolate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

solidus solidi

Here is a little graphical palate cleanser: we visualized the life cycle of the parasite Schistocephalus solidus, which requires ingestion by a copepod, a fish and a bird—in that order—to survive and reproduce.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 14, 2022

The parasitic cestode Schistocephalus solidus requires a much larger host—specifically, a three-spined stickleback fish—to grow in and then a bird to breed in.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2022

Since magma is a mixture of different minerals, the solidus boundary is more of a fuzzy zone rather than a well- defined line; some minerals are melted and some remain solid.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

B, C, and D all show different ways the Earth produces intersections of the geothermal gradient and the solidus, which results in melting each time.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

The process of diminution by alloy and in weight began under Philippe I. For the question of the existence of a silver solidus, see Le Blanc, Introduction, p. xii.

From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by Shaw, William Arthur

If any freeman steal, outside of a house, something worth 2 denarii, he shall be sentenced to 600 denarii, which make 15 solidi.

From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Ogg, Frederic Austin

If any one shall have gone, where there is no road or path, through another's field after the grain has grown tall, he shall be sentenced to 600 denarii, which make 15 solidi.

From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Ogg, Frederic Austin

And if he shall have taken nothing, or have escaped by flight, he shall, for the housebreaking alone, be sentenced to 1,200 denarii, which make 30 solidi.

From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Ogg, Frederic Austin

Probably the solidi thus paid to him are mesne rents received by the King and accounted for to Theodahad.

From The Letters of Cassiodorus Being A Condensed Translation Of The Variae Epistolae Of Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator by Hodgkin, Thomas