dinar

Where does the word "dinar" come from? It comes from Latin denarius, passing through Arabic before entering English (1600s).

Dinar’s story begins in Latin: denarius meant “a Roman coin.” A Roman silver coin, from deni (containing ten). By medieval, the word had taken hold in Arabic as dinar. Caliph Abd al-Malik minted the first gold dinars around 696. It reached English by 1600s as dinar. First recorded in 1634 in Thomas Herbert's travel account of Persia; used today in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Serbia and elsewhere. Today, dinar means the basic monetary unit of several Middle Eastern and North African countries.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient denarius "a Roman coin", a Roman silver coin, from deni (containing ten).
2. Stage 2 · Arabic · medieval dinar "a gold coin", Caliph Abd al-Malik minted the first gold dinars around 696.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s dinar "the unit of currency in several countries", first recorded in 1634 in Thomas Herbert's travel account of Persia; used today in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Serbia and elsewhere.