Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun British money, especially the pound as the basic unit of currency of the United Kingdom.
- noun British coinage of silver or gold, having as a standard of fineness 0.500 for silver and 0.91666 for gold.
- noun Sterling silver.
- noun Articles, such as tableware, made of sterling silver.
- adjective Consisting of or relating to sterling or British money.
- adjective Made of sterling silver.
- adjective Of the highest quality.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An obsolete form of
starling . - noun See
starling . - noun A silver coin struck by English (and Scottish) kings from the time of Richard I. (1190).
- noun English money.
- Of fixed or standard national value; conforming to the national standard of value: said of English money, and, by extension, of the precious metals: as, a pound sterling; a shilling sterling. Abbreviated ster., stg.
- Of acknowledged worth or influence; authoritative.
- Genuine; true; pure; hence, of great value or excellence.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Engin.) Same as
starling , 3. - noun Any English coin of standard value; coined money.
- noun A certain standard of quality or value for money.
- adjective Belonging to, or relating to, the standard British money of account, or the British coinage
- adjective Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest standard; of full value.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the
currency of theUnited Kingdom ; especially thepound - noun former
British gold orsilver coinage of a standardfineness : for gold 0.91666 and for silver 0.925. - noun
sterling silver , or articles made from this material - noun A structure of pilings that protects the piers of a bridge; a
starling . - adjective of, or relating to British currency, or the former British coinage
- adjective of, relating to, or made from sterling silver
- adjective high
quality
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun British money; especially the pound sterling as the basic monetary unit of the UK
- adjective highest in quality
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sterling.
Examples
-
Accordingly, the pound currency was fixed at 18 shillings sterling, and 90 pounds sterling was equal to 100 pounds currency, the rules of conversion being, _add one-ninth to sterling to obtain currency, and deduct one tenth from currency to find the sterling_.
The Backwoods of Canada Being Letters From The Wife of an Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British America Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850
-
But that, in sterling, is £398,631 (at current exchange rates) yet this compares with £437,000 each for lightly armoured Pinzgauer trucks.
Dying of ignorance Richard 2006
-
Look for the word sterling on the back of the handle.
How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003
-
Look for the word sterling on the back of the handle.
How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003
-
Look for the word sterling on the back of the handle.
How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003
-
It is agreed that creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the full value in sterling money of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted.
Your History Moment: The Treaty of Paris « Third Point of Singularity 2009
-
Available in sterling silver and 10-karat gold, the pendant retails for $115 and $420, respectively, at Meandrojewelry. com.
Fashion Forward: Blanchett is bright in Armani's Black Lace makeup 2010
-
Before this summit Cameron had already retreated from his pre-election rhetoric in arguing that chancellor Angela Merkel's demand for changes to the hard-fought Lisbon Treaty? intended to prevent the need for another £400bn Greek currency rescue? does not amount to a further erosion of British sovereignty, because sterling is not a eurozone member.
Can David Cameron strike a hard bargain in Brussels? Michael White 2010
-
The BOE insisted there is no shortage of short-term sterling liquidity in the market.
BOE to Probe Bank-Pay Incentives Jason Douglas 2011
-
On Thursday, gold priced in sterling and euros reached record highs, while that priced in the more usual dollar denomination was quoted at $US1236 an ounce, with dealers expecting it to reach fresh highs over coming days.
Luxury Hotel Installs Gold-Dispensing Machine | Impact Lab 2010
suunflowerss commented on the word sterling
to honor my sterling reputation (RME)
September 15, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word sterling
"The German cities of Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen and Cologne created the (Hanseatic) league for profits and protection. They were small compared to Venice. None could afford to secure an entire coastline on their own. They pooled resources and gave each other trading privileges. Danzig and Bruges joined the group, as did every port city in northern Germany. London, far away on the Thames, let the Hansa set up a walled compound near London Bridge complete with warehouses, barracks and a beer garden that competed with local taverns with its Hamburg ale and Rhenish wine. Hansa law influenced English maritime law. The coinage of the Hansa towns, the Easterling, inspired the English word 'sterling' and the word hansa inspired the name of the German airline Lufthansa."
--Greg Steinmetz, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger (NY and London: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 86
February 6, 2017