sterling

Meanings

1. An English silver penny first introduced by the Normans.
2. A penny issued in other countries, such as Scotland.
3. The currency of the United Kingdom, based on the pound sterling; hence, genuine English or British currency, as contrasted with foreign currency.
4. Short for sterling silver (“an alloy containing not less than 92.5 percent silver, the remainder usually being copper; articles made from this alloy collectively”).
5. Former British gold or silver coinage of a standard fineness (0.91666 for gold and 0.925 for silver).
6. Synonym of pennyweight (“a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, or ¹⁄₂₀ of a troy ounce”)
7. Money generally.
8. The standard degree of fineness.

1. Of or relating to the currency of the United Kingdom, or former types of English or British coinage.
2. Of silver: being of standard quality.
3. Of a thing: of or relating to, or made from, sterling silver.
4. Of English (or (obsolete) Scottish) currency: genuine, of legal tender.
5. Of acknowledged influence; authoritative; also, of high or excellent quality; of proven worth.
6. Having currency (“general acceptance, recognition, or use”).

1. Obsolete form of starling (“a family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds; specifically, the common starling, Sturnus vulgaris, which has dark, iridescent plumage”).

1. Obsolete form of starling (“an enclosure like a coffer-dam, formed of piles driven closely together before any structure or work, as a protection against the wash of waves, commonly used to protect the piers of a bridge”).

1. A Scottish surname, variant of Stirling.
2. An English surname, thought to be a variant of Starling.
3. A unisex given name transferred from the surname.
4. A number of places in the United States:
5. A census-designated place in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska.
6. A city, the county seat of Logan County, Colorado.
7. A town in Windham County, Connecticut.
8. A census-designated place in Glynn County, Georgia.
9. An unincorporated community in Bingham County, Idaho.
10. A city in Whiteside County, Illinois.
11. A ghost town in Jackson County, Iowa.
12. A city in Rice County, Kansas, named after Sterling Rosan.

Etymology

Possibly from Old English *steorling, from steorra (“star”) and -ling, in reference to the stars that appeared on certain English pennies. Alternatively, the first element may be *stēre, meaning “strong” or “stout” (compare the etymology of solidus).