shilling

noun shil·ling \ ˈshi-liŋ \

Updated on: 15 Mar 2018

Definition of shilling

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

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Recent Examples of shilling from the Web

The Kenyan shilling inched higher against the dollar soon after the joint statement by the two leaders.

— matina stevis-gridneff, WSJ, "Amid U.S. Pressure, Kenyan Rivals Pledge to End Strife," 9 Mar. 2018
After all the lies and all the shilling, Pence and his spokesmen now ask us to spare him.

— william saletan, Slate Magazine, "Mike Pence isn’t avoiding Trump’s misconduct. He’s abetting it.," 22 May 2017
For its part, Nakumatt has shut more than a dozen branches in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as East Africa’s biggest retailer struggles to pay suppliers and owes more than 30 billion Kenyan shillings ($289 million) to creditors.

— david herbling, Bloomberg.com, "Shoprite Prepares Kenya Entry to Fill Gaps Left by Nakumatt," 30 Oct. 2017
The Kenyan shilling has weakened 2 percent against the dollar in that period.

— felix njini, Bloomberg.com, "Chances of New Kenyan Election Next Month Are Fading, Official Says," 30 Sep. 2017
The Nairobi Stock Exchange fell sharply after the court’s decision, while the Kenyan shilling weakened slightly.

— The Economist, "Kenya’s high court annuls the presidential election," 1 Sep. 2017
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen (pounds) nineteen (shillings) and six (pence), result happiness.

— john gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Why does economy seem to be 1 step forward, 2 back for Michiganders? Researcher has theory," 12 July 2017
The lender earlier on Thursday reported a 1.9 percent decline in first-quarter profit as net interest income, the money banks earn from interest charges on loans, shrank 5.5 percent to 10.3 billion shillings ($99.6 million).

— felix njini, Bloomberg.com, "Kenya's Largest Bank Expects Rate-Cap Removal in Second Half," 11 May 2017
Shilling scored two goals a minute apart in the third quarter to give Boys' Latin its first lead and then insurance at 8-6.

— glenn graham, baltimoresun.com, "No. 2 Boys' Latin takes control in second half to beat No. 4 St. Mary's in lacrosse, 13-9," 25 Apr. 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of shilling

Middle English, from Old English scilling; akin to Old High German skilling, a gold coin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

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SHILLING Defined for English Language Learners

shilling

noun

Definition of shilling for English Language Learners

: a British coin used before 1971 that was equal to 1/20 of a British pound
: the basic unit of money in Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda

SHILLING Defined for Kids

shilling

noun shil·ling \ ˈshi-liŋ \

Definition of shilling for Students

: an old British coin equal to ¹/₂₀ pound

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Definition of shilling

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Origin and Etymology of shilling

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Definition of shilling for English Language Learners

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shilling

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