shilling Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the basic unit of money in Uganda; equal to 100 cents
    Ugandan shilling.
  2. noun the basic unit of money in Tanzania; equal to 100 cents
    Tanzanian shilling.
  3. noun the basic unit of money in Somalia; equal to 100 cents
    Somalian shilling.
  4. noun the basic unit of money in Kenya; equal to 100 cents
    Kenyan shilling.
  5. noun a former monetary unit in Great Britain
    British shilling; bob.
  6. noun an English coin worth one twentieth of a pound
  7. verb act as a shill
    shill.
    • The shill bid for the expensive carpet during the auction in order to drive the price up

WordNet

Shil"ling noun
Etymology
OE. shilling, schilling, AS. scilling; akin to D. schelling, OS. & OHG. scilling, G. schilling, Sw. & Dan. skilling, Icel. skillingr, Goth. skilliggs, and perh. to OHG. scellan to sound, G. schallen.
Definitions
  1. A silver coin, and money of account, of Great Britain and its dependencies, equal to twelve pence, or the twentieth part of a pound, equivalent to about twenty-four cents of the United States currency.
  2. In the United States, a denomination of money, differing in value in different States. It is not now legally recognized. ✍ Many of the States while colonies had issued bills of credit which had depreciated in different degrees in the different colonies. Thus, in New England currency (used also in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida), after the adoption of the decimal system, the pound in paper money was worth only $3.333, and the shilling 16 cts., or 6s. to $1; in New York currency (also in North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan), the pound was worth $2.50, and the shilling 12½ cts., or 8s. to $1; in Pennsylvania currency (also in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland), the pound was worth $2.70, and the shilling 13½ cts., or 7s. 6d. to $1; and in Georgia currency (also in South Carolina), the pound was worth $4.29, and the shilling 21 cts., or 4s 8d. to $1. In many parts of the country . . . the reckoning by shillings and pence is not yet entirely abandoned. Am. Cyc.
  3. The Spanish real, of the value of one eight of a dollar, or 12 cets; -- formerly so called in New York and some other States. See Note under 2.

Webster 1913