Etymology Map
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Zloty

2 stages from Polish to English.

Today it means the basic monetary unit of Poland

Where does the word "zloty" come from? It comes from Polish złoty, adopted directly into English (1920s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
złoty
Polish · 1400s
"gold coin"
'golden', first used for gold ducats; the Sejm of 1496 fixed the złoty as a unit of account worth 30 groszy
2
Stage 2 of 2
zloty
English · 1920s
"Polish currency"
reintroduced as Poland's currency in Władysław Grabski's 1924 reform; a new złoty worth 10,000 old ones came in 1995
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Zloty’s story begins in Polish: złoty meant “gold coin.” 'golden', first used for gold ducats; the Sejm of 1496 fixed the złoty as a unit of account worth 30 groszy. It reached English by 1920s as zloty. Reintroduced as Poland's currency in Władysław Grabski's 1924 reform; a new złoty worth 10,000 old ones came in 1995. Today, zloty means the basic monetary unit of Poland.