sterlings

Noun

sterling (countable and uncountable, plural sterlings)

1. (countable, obsolete except historical) An English silver penny first introduced by the Normans.
   • Nummus […] is taken for braſſe pens, or els pieces of ſiluer of the valu of a dandiprat or i. d. ob. a pece or there about, ſo that yͤ thouſand peces wer moche about the ſomme of twentie nobles sterlynges [i.e., nobles of sterlings].1564 February, Erasmus, “The Saiynges of Augustus Caeser”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., Apophthegmes, that is to Saie, Prompte, Quicke, Wittie and Sentẽcious Saiynges, […]...
2. (broadly, countable) A penny issued in other countries, such as Scotland.
3. (broadly, uncountable) The currency of the United Kingdom, also called the pound sterling
   • Ophe[lia]. He hath my Lord of late made many tenders / Of his affection to me. / […] / Pol[onius]. Marry I vvill teach you, thinke your ſelfe a babie / That you haue tane [taken] theſe tenders for true pay / VVhich are not ſterling, tender your ſelfe more dearely […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604...
4. (broadly, historical, uncountable) Former British gold or silver coinage of a standard fineness (0.91666 for gold and 0.925 for silver).
   • […] Sterling vvas the knovvn and approved Standard in England, in all Probability, from the Beginning of King Henry the Second's Reign. But King John vvas undoubtedly the firſt vvho introduced Sterling Money in Ireland.1745, Stephen Martin Leake, “John, A.D. 1199”, in An Historical Account of English Money, from the Conquest, to the Present Time; […], 2nd edition, London: […] W. Meadows, […], →OCLC, page 62
5. (broadly, countable, obsolete) Synonym of pennyweight (“a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, or ¹⁄₂₀ of a troy ounce”)
   • [E]ight of them [carats] make but one Sterlin, and a Sterlin is the 24 part of an ounce.1611, Randle Cotgrave, compiler, “Carat”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, signature O ij, verso, column 1

   Synonyms:

   pennyweight

6. (broadly, obsolete, uncountable) Money generally.

See all 41 meanings of sterling