Tical

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit of weight used in parts of Asia for measuring precious materials ; a form of currency formerly used in Thailand ; an alternate spelling or term for "baht" in some historical or regional contexts
2. Historically, a measurement for gold, silver, or other items in Southeast Asia ; the name of an old Thai monetary unit ; another term referencing the Thai baht in certain periods
3. An Asian standard of mass, especially in trade involving valuable substances ; a monetary denomination once current in Thailand ; an archaic or variant reference to the Thai baht

Etymology: Before it named a coin, this term was a unit of weight. Its roots lie in Southeast Asian trade, where it measured precious metals and goods. Traders carried the term into Portuguese, the language of many early European merchants in the region, and it reached English from there. The Thai form, "ticaṅ," appears in the Thai system of weights, and the Malay "tikal" is probably its closest relative, though the exact path between these forms is uncertain. The shift from weight to money followed from how silver was traded. Merchants paid by weighing out a fixed quantity of silver, so the unit of weight came to stand for a set amount of silver. Once that amount was struck as a coin, the coin kept the name, and the tical became a monetary denomination. It stayed in use in Thailand as a currency unit until the baht replaced it.

Synonyms: Thai baht (old)