shilling

noun

shil·​ling ˈshi-liŋ 

1

a

: 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 Web

Yet 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

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

Kids Definition

shilling

noun

shil·​ling ˈshil-iŋ 

1

: a former unit of British money equal to frac::1/20 pound

2

: a coin equal to frac::1/20 pound in any of several countries of the Commonwealth of Nations

3

: any of several early American coins

4

a

: the basic unit of money of Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda

b

: a coin representing this unit