Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The primary unit of currency in Spain and Andorra before the adoption of the euro.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A silver coin struck by Christian VII. of Denmark for Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
  • noun A silver coin of modern Spain.
  • noun It is equal to 19.3 United States cents, or 9½d. sterling. There is a gold coin of 20 pesetas and a silver coin of 5 pesetas.
  • noun In Peru, the fifth part of the silver sol, equal to a French franc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A Spanish silver coin, and money of account, equal to about nineteen cents, and divided into 100 centesimos.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The former currency of Spain ad Andorra, divided into 100 céntimos

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun formerly the basic unit of money in Spain; equal to 100 centimos

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish, diminutive of peso, peso; see peso.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word peseta.

Examples

  • The purchasing value of the peseta was about fourpence. [back] 14.

    Homage to Catalonia 1938

  • A peseta is the legal unit of the currency, and is of the same value as the French franc and the Italian lira, or nineteen cents, three mills of our money, as estimated by the director of the

    Four Young Explorers or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics Oliver Optic 1859

  • The peseta is called "peseta;" and the media peseta is known as "dies ay seis" (ten and six), or, simply, "seis"

    The Bontoc Igorot Albert Ernest Jenks 1911

  • With the usual perversity also, the common standard "peseta," in which small bargains are struck on the coast, was omitted, the nearest coin, the quarter-dollar, being nominally worth ptas.

    Life in Morocco and Glimpses Beyond Budgett Meakin 1886

  • Banks and investment funds in one euro-using country gorged on the bonds of others, freed of worry about devaluation-prone currencies like the drachma, lira, peseta and escudo.

    Ties That Bound Europe Now Fraying Stephen Fidler 2011

  • He invested money, hired French chefs – gaining a first Michelin star – and never saw a peseta in return.

    How a wartime romance gave birth to the best restaurant in the world 2011

  • “No, she go early with …” And then the penny, the peseta, the euro … or whatever it was, dropped, and her eyes opened and her face flushed, and all of a sudden she was frightened.

    The Priest Gerard O’Donovan 2011

  • When asked if the euro should be replaced or maintained, about three in five said to stick with the common currency rather than return to the peseta.

    Poll Finds Euro Still Top Option Tim Hanrahan 2011

  • That is most certainly not the case of Spain, which would unquestionably have suffered terribly if we had still had the peseta.

    Nick Clegg: Join the euro to save the City and public finances 2009

  • The Irish punt and Italian lira would sink 25% against a new German mark, while the Spanish peseta would lose 50% and Greece's drachma, 80%.

    Banks Ponder Scenarios if Countries Drop Euro Neil Shah 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "The bartender sits down beside me.

    'Where to?'

    'Caribbean. Work. No more pesetas.'"

    --Steven Callahan, Adrift, 17

    May 15, 2008