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

The rock surrounding the plume is exposed to higher temperatures, the geothermal gradient crosses to the right of the green solidus line, and the rock begins to melt.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

The small coin was the silver denarius, forty of which made a solidus.

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

The magnates of the city and Andreaccio treated with the pilot for its purchase, and paid 200 Roman solidi for the shrine, and 100 for a gemmed crown above it.

From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton) Jackson

Justinian ordered that when gifts exceeded five hundred solidi, a formal act stating the particulars of the donation should be inscribed in a public register.

From The Old Roman World, : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization. by John Lord

But if he steal something worth 40 denarii, he shall pay 6 solidi.

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

Glauke, the daughter of an Athenian sculptor, had studied the folds of the chlamys for years, and for this reason had been bought by the Empress at a cost of many thousand solidi.

From A Struggle for Rome, v. 1 by Felix Dahn

But if a Frank shall have robbed a Roman, he shall be sentenced to 35 solidi.

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