drachma

American  

[drak-muh, drahk-] / ˈdræk mə, ˈdrɑk- /

noun

plural

drachmas, drachmae

1. a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of modern Greece until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 lepta. dr., drch.

2. the principal silver coin of ancient Greece.

3. a small unit of weight in ancient Greece, approximately equivalent to the U.S. and British apothecaries' dram.

4. any of various modern weights, especially a dram.

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drachma British  

/ ˈdrækmə /

noun

1. the former standard monetary unit of Greece, divided into 100 lepta; replaced by the euro in 2002

2. another name for dram

3. a silver coin of ancient Greece

4. a unit of weight in ancient Greece

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Other Word Forms

• drachmal adjective

Etymology

Origin of drachma

1520–30; < Latin < Greek drachmḗ, probably equivalent to drach- base of drássesthai to grasp + -mē noun suffix (hence literally, handful)

Example Sentences

The word evolved to drachma, the name of Greece’s currency before the euro.

From Economist • Dec. 13, 2017

The Greeks were mining for silver to make their beautiful drachma coins.

From Slate • Aug. 21, 2015

"But there are reasons to think that reintroduction of the drachma and devaluation would do less for Greece than devaluation did for Argentina. Greece is less open, it exports less," he said.

From Reuters • Jul. 22, 2015

“In the old days,” Ignatius continued, “a flexible drachma could have been devalued to boost exports and economic growth.”

From The New Yorker • Jul. 13, 2015

I tossed him a golden drachma and we marched through.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan