coinage

American  

[koi-nij] / ˈkɔɪ nɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act, process, or right of making coins.

2. the categories, types, or quantity of coins issued by a nation.

3. coins collectively; currency.

4. the act or process of inventing words; neologizing.

5. an invented or newly created word or phrase.

   “Ecdysiast” is a coinage of H. L. Mencken.

6. anything made, invented, or fabricated.

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coinage British  

/ ˈkɔɪnɪdʒ /

noun

1. coins collectively

2. the act of striking coins

3. the currency of a country

4. the act of inventing something, esp a word or phrase

5. a newly invented word, phrase, usage, etc

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Other Word Forms

• miscoinage noun
• noncoinage noun
• recoinage noun

Etymology

Origin of coinage

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Middle French word coignaige. See coin, -age

Example Sentences

The coinage is a nod to Brünnhilde, a soprano role stereotypically portrayed as a robust figure in a horned helmet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

King David I of Scotland, who reigned from 1124 until 1153, introduced the country's first coinage.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

Some large plaques also pay tribute to historic events such as the last stagecoach robbery in Kern County in 1869, in which a gunman made off with $1,700 in coinage and gold bullion.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2024

“Film noir” is a French coinage but France’s homegrown crime movies, a staple of the 1950s and early ’60s, seldom get their due in the United States, however first-rate they might be.

From New York Times • Mar. 14, 2024

Later in his life, Newton presided over the Royal Society, a fellowship of scientists, and was Master of the Mint, where he devoted his energies to the suppression of counterfeit coinage.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan