# dollar

Pronunciation: US say "DOL-er" /ˈdɑ.lɚ/; UK say "DOL-uh" /ˈdɒl.ə/

## Noun

1. The official currency unit of several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong, written with the symbol $.
   - Simple: A unit of money used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and several other countries, written with the symbol $.
   - _The painting sold for nearly two million dollars at auction._
   - _Every dollar in your pocket is backed by the issuing government._
2. Money considered in a general sense, rather than a specific amount or particular currency.
   - Simple: Money in general, thought of as wealth or spending power rather than an exact amount.
   - _Some politicians follow the dollar more closely than the public good._
   - _In that town, every decision comes down to dollars._
3. A colloquial term for the ringgit, the unit of currency used in Malaysia. *(colloquial, Malaysia)*
   - Simple: A casual word for the ringgit, the money used in Malaysia.
   - _When my uncle in Penang says the taxi cost twenty dollars, he means ringgit, not American money._
   - _At a Kuala Lumpur stall, the uncle charged one dollar extra for an egg on my noodles._

## Noun

4. A quarter of a pound, or one crown: historically a coin minted at about the same size and composition as a contemporary United States dollar coin, and worth slightly more. *(dated, UK)*
   - Simple: An old British word for a coin worth a quarter of a pound, or one crown.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Imported from the United States and paid for in U.S. dollars.
- (noun) The amount of reactor reactivity needed to move from delayed criticality to prompt criticality.

## Origin

Attested since the mid-16th century, it comes from early Dutch daler or daalder, from German Taler (earlier Joachimsthaler), literally "of Joachimstal," the town where the original coins were minted: the name meaning "(Saint) Joachim's valley." It was possibly reinforced by the Dutch leeuwendaalder, also used in the American colonies.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dollar (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).