1.
[syn: money cowrie, Cypraea moneta]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Money \Mon"ey\, n.; pl. Moneys. [OE. moneie, OF. moneie, F.
monnaie, fr. L. moneta. See Mint place where coin is made,
Mind, and cf. Moidore, Monetary.]
1. A piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, etc., coined,
or stamped, and issued by the sovereign authority as a
medium of exchange in financial transactions between
citizens and with government; also, any number of such
pieces; coin.
[1913 Webster]
To prevent such abuses, . . . it has been found
necessary . . . to affix a public stamp upon certain
quantities of such particular metals, as were in
those countries commonly made use of to purchase
goods. Hence the origin of coined money, and of
those public offices called mints. --A. Smith.
[1913 Webster]
2. Any written or stamped promise, certificate, or order, as
a government note, a bank note, a certificate of deposit,
etc., which is payable in standard coined money and is
lawfully current in lieu of it; in a comprehensive sense,
any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying and
selling.
[1913 Webster]
3. Any article used as a medium of payment in financial
transactions, such as checks drawn on checking accounts.
[PJC]
4. (Economics) Any form of wealth which affects a person's
propensity to spend, such as checking accounts or time
deposits in banks, credit accounts, letters of credit,
etc. Various aggregates of money in different forms are
given different names, such as M-1, the total sum of all
currency in circulation plus all money in demand deposit
accounts (checking accounts).
[PJC]
Note: Whatever, among barbarous nations, is used as a medium
of effecting exchanges of property, and in the terms of
which values are reckoned, as sheep, wampum, copper
rings, quills of salt or of gold dust, shovel blades,
etc., is, in common language, called their money.
[1913 Webster]
4. In general, wealth; property; as, he has much money in
land, or in stocks; to make, or lose, money.
[1913 Webster]
The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
--1 Tim vi. 10
(Rev. Ver. ).
[1913 Webster]
Money bill (Legislation), a bill for raising revenue.
Money broker, a broker who deals in different kinds of
money; one who buys and sells bills of exchange; -- called
also money changer.
Money cowrie (Zool.), any one of several species of
Cypraea (esp. Cypraea moneta) formerly much used as
money by savage tribes. See Cowrie.
Money of account, a denomination of value used in keeping
accounts, for which there may, or may not, be an
equivalent coin; e. g., the mill is a money of account in
the United States, but not a coin.
Money order,
(a) an order for the payment of money; specifically, a
government order for the payment of money, issued at
one post office as payable at another; -- called also
postal money order.
(b) a similar order issued by a bank or other financial
institution.
Money scrivener, a person who procures the loan of money to
others. [Eng.]
Money spider, Money spinner (Zool.), a small spider; --
so called as being popularly supposed to indicate that the
person upon whom it crawls will be fortunate in money
matters.
Money's worth, a fair or full equivalent for the money
which is paid.
A piece of money, a single coin.
Ready money, money held ready for payment, or actually
paid, at the time of a transaction; cash.
plastic money, credit cards, usually made out of plastic;
also called plastic; as, put it on the plastic.
To make money, to gain or acquire money or property; to
make a profit in dealings.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
money cowrie
n 1: cowrie whose shell is used for money in parts of the
southern Pacific and in parts of Africa [syn: money
cowrie, Cypraea moneta]