Slang terms for money
Encyclopedia
Slang terms for money often derive from the appearance and features of banknote
s or coins
, their values, historical associations or the units of currency
concerned. Within a single language community some of the slang
terms vary across social, ethnic, economic, and geographic strata, but others have become the dominant way of referring to the currency and are regarded as mainstream, acceptable language e.g. "buck" for a dollar
or similar currency in various nations including Australia
, Canada
, New Zealand
, Sri Lanka
, South Africa
, Nigeria
and the United States
.
"/"filthy lucre", "moola/moolah", "readies", "spondulicks/spondoolic(k)s", "Spondoolies" and "wonga". "Fiver" may be used for an Australian 5 dollar note, A British five-pound note, a Canadian five-dollar bill, a five-Euro banknote or a United States five-dollar bill.
," a "ten-spot," or a "Hamilton"; the $20 bill as a "double sawbuck," or a "Jackson"; the $1 bill is sometimes called a "single," a "buck," a "clam," or a "simoleon"; the $2 bill a "deuce," "Jefferson," or a "T.J." and the $100 bill is nicknamed a "Benjamin," "Benji," or "Franklin" (after Benjamin Franklin
, who is pictured on the note), C-note (C being the Roman numeral for 100), Century Note, or "bill" ("two bills" being $200, etc.). The dollar has also been referred to as a "bone" or "bones" (i.e. twenty bones is equal to $20) or a "bean". Occasionally these will be referred to as "dead presidents," although neither Hamilton ($10) nor Franklin ($100) was President. $1000 notes are occasionally referred to as 'large' in banking ("twenty large" being $20,000, etc.) or as "big ones" in slang (as in "twenty big ones"). The newer designs are sometimes referred to as "Bigface" bills, or "Monopoly
Money". The new $5 bill has been called a "Faux Euro" due to the similarity between its color scheme and the Euro. Greenback originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln
to finance the costs of the American Civil War
for the North. The original note was printed in black and green on the back side. It is still used to refer to the U.S. dollar (but not to the dollars of other countries). Additionally, a "G" or "grand" refers to $1,000.
For coins a "nickel"
is a coin worth one twentieth of a U.S. Dollar. The coins themselves bear the legend, "FIVE CENTS".
Although these two names for coins are not slang in the U.S., as "ONE DIME" and "QUARTER DOLLAR" are the actual names embossed on U.S. coins themselves, a dime
is a coin worth one tenth of a U.S. Dollar or Canadian Dollar
and a "quarter"
is a coin worth one quarter of a U.S. Dollar or Canadian Dollar
. Canada uses the legends 10¢ and 25¢ respectively on their coinage, but Canadians follow the U.S. terms for those two coins.
Other more general terms for money, not specifically linked to actual banknotes:
- Monetary units larger than 1 dollar are often referred to by the names of their coin counterparts: $5 is a "nickel", $10 is a "dime", and $25 is a "quarter".
- One hundred dollars is known in some circles as a "yard".
- A million dollars is sometimes called a "rock", popularized by several TV shows and movies, most recently The Sopranos
. (ex., "This wedding is costing me half a rock.")
, Kedah
, Perlis
), "sen" is called as "kupang". And, it's called without mentioning the "tens". For example, 50 sen/cents is called 5 kupang and not 50 kupang.
In the East Coast Region ( Kelantan
, Terengganu
, Pahang
), they still used sen. But only for the value of 50 cents, they replace it with the word se-amah ( where "se" refer to one in Malay), if it's RM 1 (100 cents), it will be called dua-amah ( "Dua" is two in Malay), and so on.
And, exclusively in Kelantan, they don't refer the value of money in "ringgit", for example, in other states, RM 10 is called 10 ringgit, RM 25 is called 25 ringgit and so on. But, in Kelantan, they replaced the word "ringgit" with "riyal", for example, RM 10 is usually called 10 ringgit, but in Kelantan, it's called 10 riyal. This might be because Kelantan is an "Islamic state" on which the administration of the state is mostly by ulama
.
Ready money (i.e. available cash) has for centuries been referred to in the United Kingdom as "rhino"; Brewer
equates this term with "paying through the nose", rhino- being a Greek prefix referring to the nose, that is, paying in cash. The related term "cash on the nail" is said to refer to 17th century trading stands in Bristol
and elsewhere, over which deals were done and cash changed hands.
Quid (singular and plural) is used for pound sterling
or £, in British slang. It is thought to derive from the Latin phrase "quid pro quo"
. A pound (£1) may also be referred to as a "nicker" or "nugget" (rarer).
Some other pre-decimalisation
United Kingdom coins or denominations became commonly known by colloquial and slang terms, perhaps the most well known being "bob" for a shilling
, and "quid" for a pound. A farthing was a "mag", a silver threepence
was a "joey" and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a "threepenny bit" ; a sixpence
was a "tanner", the two-shilling coin or florin was a "two-bob bit", the two shillings and sixpence coin or half-crown was a "half dollar" and the crown was a "dollar". Slang terms are not used for the decimal coins that replaced them but in some parts of the country, "bob" continues to represent one-twentieth of a pound, that is five new pence, and two bob is 10p. For all denominations "p" is used for pence.
In the United Kingdom the term "shrapnel" may be used for an inconvenient pocketful of loose change because of the association with a shrapnel shell and "wad" or "wedge" for a bundle of banknotes, with "tightwad" a derogatory term for someone who is reluctant to spend money. Quantities of UK 1p and 2p coins may be referred to as "Copper", 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p coins as "Silver" and £1 and £2 coins as "Bronze" due to their colour and apparent base metal type. "Brass" is northern English slang for any amount of money.
Prior to their abandonment, the one pound note was occasionally referred to as a "Sheet" and thus the ten shilling note as a "Half Sheet". More commonly the ten shilling note was a "ten bob note".
In pub culture five and ten pounds notes are sometimes called "Blue beer tokens" and "Brown beer tokens".
Rhyming Slang for particular quantities of money in the United Kingdom include; "Lady Godiva" for a fiver (£5), or a "Jacks" - Jacks Alive (extremely rare). A "Cockle" is £10 - Cock and Hen - ten. A "Tenner" is £10. A "score" is £20. A "pony" equals £25. A "ton" or "century" is £100. A "monkey" is £500. A "grand" commonly means £1,000 and use of this term is now very widespread. A "oner" (one-er) has referred to various amounts from one shilling to a pound to now meaning £100 or £1,000 and a "big one" denoting £1,000.
for 5 paisa (100 paisa is equal to 1 indian rupee) it is 'panji'. A 10 paisa coin is called 'dassi' and for 20 paisa it is 'bissi'. A 25 paisa coin is called 'chavanni' (equal to 4 annas) and 50 paisa is 'athanni' (8 annas). However in recent years due to inflation the use of these small value coins have declined, and so is the use of these slang terms. The more prevalent terms now (particularly in Mumbai and in Bollywood movies) are 'peti' for a Lakh (Rs. 100,000) and 'khokha' for a Crore (Rs. 10,000,000.) Petti also means suitcase, which is the volume needed to carry a Lakh of currency notes. Due to the real estate boom in recent times, businessmen also use the terms '2C' or '3C' referring to two crores and three crores respectively.
a number of slang terms have emerged, though the difference in languages mean these terms are not common across the whole of the eurozone
. Some terms are inherited from the legacy currencies, such as quid from the Irish pound
and various translations of fiver or tenner being used for notes. The German
Teuro is a play on the word teuer, meaning 'expensive'. The Deutsche Mark by comparison was worth half as much as the euro (a ratio of approximately 2:1) and some grocers and restaurants have been accused of taking advantage of the smaller numbers to increase their actual prices with the changeover. In Flanders
the lower value copper coins are known as koper or rostjes. Ege in Finland
and Leru in Spain
are all other terms applied to the euro.
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...
s or coins
COinS
ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...
, their values, historical associations or the units of currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
concerned. Within a single language community some of the slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
terms vary across social, ethnic, economic, and geographic strata, but others have become the dominant way of referring to the currency and are regarded as mainstream, acceptable language e.g. "buck" for a dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
or similar currency in various nations including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
General terms
General terms specific to certain social, ethnic, economic and geographic strata include; "bread" (an allusion to the importance of money), "buck", "clam", "milk", "dosh", "dough", "shillings", "frogskins", "duckets", "greenbacks", "scrilla", "loot", "bones", "coin", "folding stuff", "honk", "lolly", "lucreLucre
Lucre, from the Lat. lucrum, meaning gain in terms of money or wealth within the nation.Often it is used in a negative, as in the phrase “not given to filthy lucre” from the Bible .From this, the term "filthy" became slang for money...
"/"filthy lucre", "moola/moolah", "readies", "spondulicks/spondoolic(k)s", "Spondoolies" and "wonga". "Fiver" may be used for an Australian 5 dollar note, A British five-pound note, a Canadian five-dollar bill, a five-Euro banknote or a United States five-dollar bill.
Australia
Most Australian bank notes have colloquially assigned nicknames due to their denomination or colour. A five-dollar note is known as a 'fiver'; a ten-dollar not as a 'tenner' (pron. 'tenor') or a 'blue-tongue' because the note is predominantly blue; a twenty-dollar note is known as a 'lobster' because the note is predominantly red; a fifty-dollar note is known as a 'pineapple' because the note is predominantly yellow; and a one-hundred-dollar note is known as a "hundi-stick".United States
US banknote nicknames reflect their values (such as five, twenty, etc.), the subjects depicted on them and their color. The $5 bill has been referred to as a "fin" or a "fiver" or a "five-spot;" the $10 bill as a "sawbuckSawbuck
A sawbuck is a device for holding rough wood so that it may be sawn into pieces of length usable in a stove or fireplace. Easily made in the field from rough material, it consists of two "X" forms, one at each end, which are stabilized by a central piece...
," a "ten-spot," or a "Hamilton"; the $20 bill as a "double sawbuck," or a "Jackson"; the $1 bill is sometimes called a "single," a "buck," a "clam," or a "simoleon"; the $2 bill a "deuce," "Jefferson," or a "T.J." and the $100 bill is nicknamed a "Benjamin," "Benji," or "Franklin" (after Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, who is pictured on the note), C-note (C being the Roman numeral for 100), Century Note, or "bill" ("two bills" being $200, etc.). The dollar has also been referred to as a "bone" or "bones" (i.e. twenty bones is equal to $20) or a "bean". Occasionally these will be referred to as "dead presidents," although neither Hamilton ($10) nor Franklin ($100) was President. $1000 notes are occasionally referred to as 'large' in banking ("twenty large" being $20,000, etc.) or as "big ones" in slang (as in "twenty big ones"). The newer designs are sometimes referred to as "Bigface" bills, or "Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
Money". The new $5 bill has been called a "Faux Euro" due to the similarity between its color scheme and the Euro. Greenback originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to finance the costs of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
for the North. The original note was printed in black and green on the back side. It is still used to refer to the U.S. dollar (but not to the dollars of other countries). Additionally, a "G" or "grand" refers to $1,000.
For coins a "nickel"
Nickel (United States coin)
The nickel is a five-cent coin, representing a unit of currency equaling five hundredths of one United States dollar. A later-produced Canadian nickel five-cent coin was also called by the same name....
is a coin worth one twentieth of a U.S. Dollar. The coins themselves bear the legend, "FIVE CENTS".
Although these two names for coins are not slang in the U.S., as "ONE DIME" and "QUARTER DOLLAR" are the actual names embossed on U.S. coins themselves, a dime
Dime
Dime may refer to:Currency* Dime * Dime Media and entertainment* Dime , by Guardian* "Dime" , by Beth* The Dimes, a musical group* Dime novel, a type of popular fictionSports* Dime...
is a coin worth one tenth of a U.S. Dollar or Canadian Dollar
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
and a "quarter"
Quarter (United States coin)
A quarter dollar, commonly shortened to quarter, is a coin worth ¼ of a United States dollar, or 25 cents. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The choice of 25¢ as a denomination, as opposed to 20¢ which is more common in other parts of the world, originated with the practice of dividing...
is a coin worth one quarter of a U.S. Dollar or Canadian Dollar
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
. Canada uses the legends 10¢ and 25¢ respectively on their coinage, but Canadians follow the U.S. terms for those two coins.
Other more general terms for money, not specifically linked to actual banknotes:
- Monetary units larger than 1 dollar are often referred to by the names of their coin counterparts: $5 is a "nickel", $10 is a "dime", and $25 is a "quarter".
- One hundred dollars is known in some circles as a "yard".
- A million dollars is sometimes called a "rock", popularized by several TV shows and movies, most recently The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
. (ex., "This wedding is costing me half a rock.")
Malaysia
In Malaysia, there is a difference between states in calling names for money. Normally, "cents" are called "sen" in Malaysia, but, in the northern region (PenangPenang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, Kedah
Kedah
Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
, Perlis
Perlis
Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and has Satun and Songkhla Provinces of Thailand on its northern border. It is bordered by the state of Kedah to the south...
), "sen" is called as "kupang". And, it's called without mentioning the "tens". For example, 50 sen/cents is called 5 kupang and not 50 kupang.
In the East Coast Region ( Kelantan
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
, Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
, Pahang
Pahang
Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
), they still used sen. But only for the value of 50 cents, they replace it with the word se-amah ( where "se" refer to one in Malay), if it's RM 1 (100 cents), it will be called dua-amah ( "Dua" is two in Malay), and so on.
And, exclusively in Kelantan, they don't refer the value of money in "ringgit", for example, in other states, RM 10 is called 10 ringgit, RM 25 is called 25 ringgit and so on. But, in Kelantan, they replaced the word "ringgit" with "riyal", for example, RM 10 is usually called 10 ringgit, but in Kelantan, it's called 10 riyal. This might be because Kelantan is an "Islamic state" on which the administration of the state is mostly by ulama
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
.
United Kingdom
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sometimes referred to simply as Brewer's, is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions and figures, whether historical or mythical.-History:...
equates this term with "paying through the nose", rhino- being a Greek prefix referring to the nose, that is, paying in cash. The related term "cash on the nail" is said to refer to 17th century trading stands in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and elsewhere, over which deals were done and cash changed hands.
Quid (singular and plural) is used for pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
or £, in British slang. It is thought to derive from the Latin phrase "quid pro quo"
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo most often means a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favour for a favour" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back,...
. A pound (£1) may also be referred to as a "nicker" or "nugget" (rarer).
Decimalisation
Decimal currency is the term used to describe any currency that is based on one basic unit of currency and a sub-unit which is a power of 10, most commonly 100....
United Kingdom coins or denominations became commonly known by colloquial and slang terms, perhaps the most well known being "bob" for a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
, and "quid" for a pound. A farthing was a "mag", a silver threepence
Threepence
Threepence may refer to:* Threepence , a pre-decimalisation coin of Ireland* Threepence , a coin used in the Commonwealth of Australia prior to decimalization...
was a "joey" and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a "threepenny bit" ; a sixpence
Sixpence
Sixpence may refer to:*Sixpence *Sixpence *Sixpence *Flat cap, also called a sixpence*Sixpence None the Richer, an American pop/rock band...
was a "tanner", the two-shilling coin or florin was a "two-bob bit", the two shillings and sixpence coin or half-crown was a "half dollar" and the crown was a "dollar". Slang terms are not used for the decimal coins that replaced them but in some parts of the country, "bob" continues to represent one-twentieth of a pound, that is five new pence, and two bob is 10p. For all denominations "p" is used for pence.
In the United Kingdom the term "shrapnel" may be used for an inconvenient pocketful of loose change because of the association with a shrapnel shell and "wad" or "wedge" for a bundle of banknotes, with "tightwad" a derogatory term for someone who is reluctant to spend money. Quantities of UK 1p and 2p coins may be referred to as "Copper", 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p coins as "Silver" and £1 and £2 coins as "Bronze" due to their colour and apparent base metal type. "Brass" is northern English slang for any amount of money.
Prior to their abandonment, the one pound note was occasionally referred to as a "Sheet" and thus the ten shilling note as a "Half Sheet". More commonly the ten shilling note was a "ten bob note".
In pub culture five and ten pounds notes are sometimes called "Blue beer tokens" and "Brown beer tokens".
Rhyming Slang for particular quantities of money in the United Kingdom include; "Lady Godiva" for a fiver (£5), or a "Jacks" - Jacks Alive (extremely rare). A "Cockle" is £10 - Cock and Hen - ten. A "Tenner" is £10. A "score" is £20. A "pony" equals £25. A "ton" or "century" is £100. A "monkey" is £500. A "grand" commonly means £1,000 and use of this term is now very widespread. A "oner" (one-er) has referred to various amounts from one shilling to a pound to now meaning £100 or £1,000 and a "big one" denoting £1,000.
India
In India slangs for coins are more common than the currency notes.for 5 paisa (100 paisa is equal to 1 indian rupee) it is 'panji'. A 10 paisa coin is called 'dassi' and for 20 paisa it is 'bissi'. A 25 paisa coin is called 'chavanni' (equal to 4 annas) and 50 paisa is 'athanni' (8 annas). However in recent years due to inflation the use of these small value coins have declined, and so is the use of these slang terms. The more prevalent terms now (particularly in Mumbai and in Bollywood movies) are 'peti' for a Lakh (Rs. 100,000) and 'khokha' for a Crore (Rs. 10,000,000.) Petti also means suitcase, which is the volume needed to carry a Lakh of currency notes. Due to the real estate boom in recent times, businessmen also use the terms '2C' or '3C' referring to two crores and three crores respectively.
Eurozone
In the first ten years of the existence of the euroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
a number of slang terms have emerged, though the difference in languages mean these terms are not common across the whole of the eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
. Some terms are inherited from the legacy currencies, such as quid from the Irish pound
Irish pound
The Irish pound was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £...
and various translations of fiver or tenner being used for notes. The German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Teuro is a play on the word teuer, meaning 'expensive'. The Deutsche Mark by comparison was worth half as much as the euro (a ratio of approximately 2:1) and some grocers and restaurants have been accused of taking advantage of the smaller numbers to increase their actual prices with the changeover. In Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
the lower value copper coins are known as koper or rostjes. Ege in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Leru in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
are all other terms applied to the euro.