écu

See also: ecu, ECU, and Ecu.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French écu. Doublet of scutum, escudo, scudo, and scute.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /eɪˈkuː/
• Rhymes: -uː

Noun

écu (plural écus)

1. (historical) A silver coin formerly used in France, with varying values.
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 260:

     The court joined in the enthusiasm, and following frequent stagings at Versailles, the king awarded de Belloy a thousand écus and a golden medallion.

Related terms

• cardecue
• escutcheon

Translations

obsolete French unit of currency

• Esperanto: eskudo
• French: écu (fr) m
• Italian: scudo (it) m
• Russian: экю (ru) m or n (ekju)
• Spanish: escudo (es) m

Anagrams

• CUE, UCE, 'cue, cue, Cue, CEU

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French escut, inherited from Latin scūtum, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, protect”) or Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.ky/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: écus

Noun

écu m (plural écus)

1. (historical) shield
2. (historical) écu

Derived terms

• herbe aux écus

 

Related terms

• écusson
• écuyer

 

Descendants

• → English: écu
• → Turkish: ekü

Further reading

• “écu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.