stiver
Americannoun
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Also stuiver a former nickel coin of the Netherlands, equal to five Dutch cents.
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the smallest possible amount.
not worth a stiver; not a stiver of work.
noun
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a former Dutch coin worth one twentieth of a guilder
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a small amount, esp of money
Etymology
Origin of stiver
First recorded in 1495–1505, stiver is from the Dutch word stuiver
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.
Behind her was a background of the stiver sea.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
As between the two systems, therefore, the Northern gulden was equal to 3 1⁄3 Southern schellings, and the Northern stiver to 2 Southern groots.
From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by William Arthur Shaw
Throw it away? give it him back? not a stiver.
From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Charles Reade
And here’s the offer that I wrote In ’33 to Lucy Diver; And here John Wylie’s begging note— He never paid me back a stiver.
From London Lyrics by George Cruikshank
All the other children at his age—when they have a stiver they either save it or buy themselves something.
From Walter Pieterse A Story of Holland by Multatuli
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.
