Denominations

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /dɛ.nɒ.mɪˈneɪ.ʃənz/

Definitions

1. Categories of currency with varying values used for exchange
2. Different units of money distinguished by their value or form
3. Various classifications of currency that indicate their specific worth

Etymology: "Denominations" is the plural of "denomination", which comes to English through Middle English "denominacioun" from Old French "denominacion", ultimately from Latin "denominatio", a naming. The Latin root is "denominare", meaning to name or call something by a particular name, built from "de-" and "nomen" (name). The word's core idea is therefore simply naming, and that sense survives in its religious use, where a denomination is a named group within a faith. The money sense grows from the same root. To denominate a coin is to give it a name or a stated value, so the denomination of a banknote is the value printed on it, and the plural refers to the different values a currency comes in, such as the set of notes and coins a country issues. The meaning has moved from the act of naming to the label that fixes a value.

Synonyms: categories, classifications