stiver
See also: Stiver
English
Etymology
From Dutch stuiver, cognate with Middle Low German stüver.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈstaɪvə/
Noun
stiver (plural stivers)
- (historical, money) A small Dutch coin worth one twentieth of a guilder.
- Anything of small value.
- 1761, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, vol. 4 (Penguin 2003, p. 223):
- ’Tis not worth a single stiver, said the bandy-leg'd drummer.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 16
- [A]ll hands, including the captain, received certain shares of the profits called lays […] And though the 275th lay was what they call a rather long lay, yet it was better than nothing; and if we had a lucky voyage, might pretty nearly pay for the clothing I would wear out on it, not to speak of my three years' beef and board, for which I would not have to pay one stiver.
- 1761, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, vol. 4 (Penguin 2003, p. 223):
Translations
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.