écu - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Borrowed from French écu. Doublet of scutum, escudo, scudo, and scute.

• (UK) IPA(key): /eɪˈkuː/
• Rhymes: -uː

écu (plural écus)

1. (historical) A silver coin formerly used in France, with varying values.
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 260:
     The court joined in the enthusiasm, and following frequent stagings at Versailles, the king awarded de Belloy a thousand écus and a golden medallion.

• cardecue
• escutcheon
• CUE, UCE, 'cue, cue, Cue, CEU

Inherited from Old French escut, inherited from Latin scūtum, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, protect”) or Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split”).

• IPA(key): /e.ky/
• Homophone: écus

écu m (plural écus)

1. (historical) shield
2. (historical) écu

• herbe aux écus

• écusson

• écuyer

• → English: écu

• → Turkish: ekü

• “écu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012