1.
[syn: bezant, bezzant, byzant, solidus]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bezant \Be*zant"\, n. [See Byzant.]
1. A gold coin of Byzantium or Constantinople, varying in
weight and value, usually (those current in England)
between a sovereign and a half sovereign. There were also
white or silver bezants. [Written also besant, byzant,
etc.]
[1913 Webster]
2. (Her.) A circle in or, i. e., gold, representing the gold
coin called bezant. --Burke.
[1913 Webster]
3. A decoration of a flat surface, as of a band or belt,
representing circular disks lapping one upon another.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bezant
n 1: a gold coin of the Byzantine Empire; widely circulated in
Europe in the Middle Ages [syn: bezant, bezzant,
byzant, solidus]