franc

[ frangk; French frahn ]

noun

, plural francs [frangks, f, r, ah, n].

1. an aluminum or nickel coin and monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centimes. : F., f., Fr, fr.
2. any of the monetary units of various other nations and territories, as Liechtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, equal to 100 centimes.
3. a former silver coin of France, first issued under Henry III.
4. a former monetary unit of Algeria, Guinea, and Morocco.

franc

/ fræŋk; frɑ̃ /

noun

1. Also calledFrench franc the former standard monetary unit of France, most French dependencies, Andorra, and Monaco, divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002
2. the former standard monetary unit of Belgium ( Belgian franc ) and Luxembourg ( Luxembourg franc ), divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002
3. Also calledSwiss franc the standard monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, divided into 100 centimes
4. Also calledfranc CFACFA francfranc of the African financial community the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 centimes, of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo
5. the standard monetary unit of Burundi ( Burundi franc ), Comoros ( Comorian franc ), Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre; Congolese franc ), Djibouti ( Djibouti franc ), Guinea ( Guinea franc ), Madagascar ( franc malgache ), Rwanda ( Rwanda franc ), and French Polynesia and New Caledonia ( French Pacific franc )

Word History and Origins

Origin of franc¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frank, from Middle French franc, so called because the coin was first inscribed with the name of the king as Medieval Latin Rēx Francōrum “King of the Franks”; Frank ¹( def ); frank ¹( def )

Example Sentences

He said the realisation of where he was being sent came when his sergeant handed him a one franc note.

From BBC

The sale of Schumacher watches, which garnered a total of more than 3.1 million francs at the hammer price, was timed for the 30th anniversary of his first Formula One Drivers Championship win in 1994.

From Seattle Times

The production costs for a DNA pool that can be divided up in this way are less than 1 Swiss franc.

From Science Daily

From April 15 to May 15, they pronounced, for the price of one franc, visitors could attend day and night.

From New York Times

Inflation has been much lower in Switzerland than elsewhere in Europe, and the strength of the Swiss franc was also a factor in the decision to cut rates, officials said.

From New York Times