Coin

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /kɔɪn/

Definitions

1. A small, flat piece of metal used as money ; to invent a new word or phrase and introduce it into language
2. A round metal object issued by a government for use in trade ; to devise a novel expression or term
3. A stamped piece of metal used for transactions ; to create and first use a new word or expression

Etymology: The surprising thing about "coin" is that it once meant a wedge. In Latin, "cuneus" meant a wedge, and the Old French "coigne" extended that sense to a wedge-shaped cornerstone and then to the die used for stamping metal. A coin, in other words, was originally the stamp that struck the metal rather than the disc it produced. The word reached English in Middle English as "coyn," borrowed from that Old French form. It is a doublet of "coign," which kept the sense of a cornerstone, and it is related to "quoin," the term for a corner stone in building. English already had a word for money-making, "mynt," from Old English "mynet," itself derived from Latin "monēta." "Coin" displaced it in the sense of metal money, so "mint" survives today mainly as the place where coins are made.

Synonyms: currency, money, token, piece, medal

Antonyms: debt, credit, liability, deficit, loss