escudo

American  

[e-skoo-doh, es-koo-doo, es-koo-thaw] / ɛˈsku doʊ, ɛsˈku dʊ, ɛsˈku ðɔ /

noun

plural

escudos

1. a coin and monetary unit of Cape Verde, equal to 100 centavos.

2. a former coin and monetary unit of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique.

3. a former paper money and monetary unit of Chile, equal to 100 condors or 1000 pesos, replaced by the new peso in 1975.

4. any of various former gold coins of Spain, Spanish America, and Portugal.

5. a former silver coin of Spain, discontinued in 1868.

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escudo British  

/ ɪʃˈkuðu, ɛˈskuːdəʊ /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Cape Verde, divided into 100 centavos

2. the former standard monetary unit of Portugal, divided into 100 centavos; replaced by the euro in 2002

3. a former monetary unit of Chile, divided into 100 centesimos

4. an old Spanish silver coin worth 10 reals

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Etymology

Origin of escudo

1815–25; < Spanish: shield < Latin scūtum

Example Sentences

El águila dorada del escudo mexicano estaba bordada en la parte superior de la falda y los lados estaban adornados con piezas metálicas doradas como los trajes tradicionales de los mariachis.

From New York Times • Nov. 5, 2022

The Latin American spiral is largely the result of instability in the peso, escudo or cruzeiro, which in turn increases import prices and wrecks wage levels.

From Time Magazine Archive

Anxiously Madrid foresaw that Portugal, by letting her escudo slide with sterling, will be able to offer drink, etc. to thirsty Britons cheaper than Spain, whose peseta is semi-stabilized on a gold basis.

From Time Magazine Archive

The escudo, twelve to the dollar when Allende took over late in 1970, is now officially pegged at 46, and on the black market is nearly 320.

From Time Magazine Archive

I happened to show him a coin which had been passed upon me, an escudo, which would be worth a sovereign if it were not counterfeit.

From Romantic Spain A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. I) by O'Shea, John Augustus