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sycee

American  
[sahy-see] / saɪˈsi /

noun

  1. fine uncoined silver in lumps of various sizes usually bearing a banker's or assayer's stamp or mark, formerly used in China as a medium of exchange.


sycee British  
/ saɪˈsiː /

noun

  1. silver ingots formerly used as a medium of exchange in China

"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

Etymology

Origin of sycee

1705–15; < Chinese dial. (Guangdong) sai-sì, akin to Chinese xìsī silk floss; so called because it can be made into wire as fine as silk thread

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.

Repeat, word for word, as closely as you can remember, all that was told you by the sycee Rung.

From The Argosy Vol. 51, No. 5, May, 1891 by Wood, Charles W.

Then we got sycee silver, which was prohibited for exportation.

From Ned Myers or, a Life Before the Mast by Cooper, James Fenimore

Early one morning I was roused by Rung Budruck, the Captain's favourite sycee or groom.

From The Argosy Vol. 51, No. 5, May, 1891 by Wood, Charles W.

Within certain limits, the large bankers undertake mercantile exchanges; they also refine the sycee, or silver, for the receivers of taxes.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 439 Volume 17, New Series, May 29, 1852 by Chambers, William

The notes are of three kinds: for cash, dollars, and sycee.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 439 Volume 17, New Series, May 29, 1852 by Chambers, William

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