Currency

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ˈkɝ.É™n.si/

Origin

From Medieval Latin currentia, from Latin currens, from currō.

Full definition of currency

Noun

1. Money or other items used to facilitate transactions.Wampum was used as a currency by Amerindians.
2. (more specifically) Paper money.
• 1943, William Saroyan, The Human Comedy, chapter 3,Spangler went through his pockets, coming out with a handful of small coins, one piece of currency and a hard-boiled egg.
3. The state of being current; general acceptance or recognition.The jargon’s currency.
4. (obsolete) fluency; readiness of utterance
5. (obsolete) Current value; general estimation; the rate at which anything is generally valued.He ... takes greatness of kingdoms according to their bulk and currency, and not after intrinsic value. — Francis Bacon.The bare name of Englishman ... too often gave a transient currency to the worthless and ungrateful. — W. Irving.

Derived terms

• (economics) fiat currency, closed currency, metacurrency