coin of the realm

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The legal money of a country.
  2. Something that is valued like money within a particular context.

Pronunciation

/ˈkɔɪn əv ðə ˈɹɛlm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-coin of the realm.wav

Word forms

coin of the realm

Etymology

The term originally referred to actual coins issued by authority of the British monarch for use within the kingdom or realm: see, for example, the 18th-century quotations.

Synonyms

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.