exergue

American  

[ig-zurg, ek-surg, eg-zurg] / ɪgˈzɜrg, ˈɛk sɜrg, ˈɛg zɜrg /

noun

1. the space below the device on a coin or medal, sometimes separated from the field by a line.

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exergue British  

/ ɛkˈsɜːɡ /

noun

1. a space on the reverse of a coin or medal below the central design, often containing the date, place of minting, etc

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Other Word Forms

• exergual adjective

Etymology

Origin of exergue

1690–1700; < French, apparently < Greek ex- ex- ³ + érgon work

Example Sentences

The one antiquated, rude, corroded, and begrimed in its long conflict with time, and the other bright and vivid, its field and exergue unmarred, its emblems and legends clear and sharp.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No. 6, December 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various

In the composition deities of Earth and Sea, and several members of the family of Augustus, are introduced; on the exergue or lower portion are Roman soldiers preparing a trophy, barbarian captives and female figures.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various

I think that a figure or head of Neptune upon the reverse, with the motto round the exergue, Tridens Neptuni sceptrum mundi.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 571 (Supplementary Number) by Various

On the coins of Thurium, the idea of water is further suggested by the adjunct of dolphins and other fish in the exergue of the coin.

From The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) by Ruskin, John

Those on the birth of their child bear the same heads on the exergue, with the head of an infant, on the reverse, inscribed, Napoleon François Joseph Charles, Rio de Rome, XX.

From Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3) by Spooner, Shearjashub