Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The European Commission and European Central Bank’s approval for Bulgaria to become the 21st country to join the common currency marks a significant step for the Balkan nation, which joined the EU in 2007 and has pegged its lev currency to the euro since 1999.—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 6 June 2025 One euro is equivalent to 1.96 lev, a rate set when Bulgaria became part of the board which anchors the currencies.—Sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 4 June 2025 Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 and committed at the time to also join the euro zone and relinquish the Bulgarian lev as its official currency.—Sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 4 June 2025 Oscar, a former board member at Sofia’s Alexandrovska Medical Centre, was accused of draining 178,000 lev. — about $100,000 — from Bulgaria’s National Health Fund through fraudulent reports of non-existent hospitalizations, examinations and treatments.—David I. Klein, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Feb. 2022 Some two-thirds of lev loans have been collected into these syndication vehicles.—Larry Light, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2019 With that, the lev became a clone of the deutsche mark.—Steve H. Hanke, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2018 The lev had collapsed, and the monthly inflation rate had soared to 242%.—Steve H. Hanke, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2018 Inflation was crushed immediately, lev interest rates plunged, a hard budget constraint was put on Bulgaria’s fisc, and the economy boomed.—Steve H. Hanke, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2018
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Bulgarian, literally, lion
Combining form
French lévo-, from Latin laevus left; akin to Greek laios left
Share