: a former monetary unit of the United Kingdom equal to 12 pence or ¹/₂₀ pound
b
: a former monetary unit equal to ¹/₂₀ pound of any of various countries in or formerly in the Commonwealth of Nations
2
: a coin representing one shilling
3
: any of several early American coins
4
the basic monetary unit of Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda see Money Table
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebYet it should be noted that the capital offenses do not include crimes against property; under English law, the theft of a shilling was a hanging offense.—Marilynne Robinson, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 The coin of rudimentary design has the initials NE for New England on one side, and the Roman numeral XII, for 12, the number of pennies in a shilling, on the other.—Mark Pratt, ajc, 21 Oct. 2021 Government figures say that in 2018 the average minimum wage in big cities was 19,831 Kenyan shillings, about $186 today.—Tom Simonite, Wired, 19 May 2020 Third day of planting; sold four bushels of grain—x shillings; quarreled with brother.—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2020 Balala said the government has allocated 500 million Kenyan shillings ($4.8 million) for public relations and marketing post-coronavirus.—Bukola Adebayo, CNN, 16 Mar. 2020 Into his 20s, the prince is said to have received feudal dues of 100 silver shillings and a pound of peppercorns from the mayor of Launceston in Cornwall.—Benjamin Mueller, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2020 See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shilling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Old English scilling; akin to Old High German skilling, a gold coin
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of shilling was
before the 12th century
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