Added 9 October 2026
solidus
/ˈsɑlɪdəs/ noun
Latin root: solidus Coined: a coined word Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about solidus at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Various medieval and early modern coins or units of account, particularly: A Roman ~23k gold coin introduced by Diocletian in AD 301 and called by that name, but reissued at a slightly lower weight by Constantine I. Its successor Byzantine coins, from the eleventh century onward of progressively debased weight and purity. Synonym of sol or sou: a Carolingian unit of account equivalent to a solidus of silver. Synonym of soldo: the silver coins of various Italian states. Synonym of shilling: an English unit of account and, following the Tudor dynasty, silver coin.
- A Roman ~23k gold coin introduced by Diocletian in AD 301 and called by that name, but reissued at a slightly lower weight by Constantine I.
- Its successor Byzantine coins, from the eleventh century onward of progressively debased weight and purity.
Origin
From Middle English solidus, from classical Latin solidus (“solid”), see below. Doublet of sol, sold, soldo, solid, sou, and xu. In numismatic and weight senses, via medieval Latin solidus (“various coins”), from Late Latin solidus (“a gold coin of the Roman Empire”). In chemical sense, via German Solidus, coined by H.W.B. Roozeboom in his 1899 Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, Stöchiometrie, und Verwandtschaftslehre (XXX, page 387). In typography, from the shilling mark originally being an abbreviation (a long s ⟨ſ⟩), of Medieval Latin solidus meaning shilling.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)