gourde

[ French goord; English goord ]

noun

, plural gourdes [goo, r, d, g, oo, rdz].

1. a paper money and monetary unit of Haiti, equal to 100 centimes. : G., Gde.

gourde

/ ɡʊəd /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Haiti, divided into 100 centimes

Word History and Origins

Origin of gourde¹

1855–60; < French, noun use of feminine of gourd dull, slow, heavy < Latin gurdus dull, obtuse

Word History and Origins

Origin of gourde¹

C19: from French, feminine of gourd heavy, from Latin gurdus a stupid person

Example Sentences

Next to him is a small cardboard box with several banknotes worth 10 Haitian gourdes — about 7 U.S. cents.

From Seattle Times

Education had been assigned a mere 15,816 gourdes — less than 1 percent of the budget.

From New York Times

"With 500 gourdes per day, without any government subsidies, we cannot meet our needs while the price of basic goods, transport costs have increased," said St Eloi, coordinator for the National Union of Haitian Workers.

From Reuters

About 50 Haitians managed to raise 25,000 gourdes — about $250 — for a spot on his battered wooden boat, parts of which were rotting.

From Washington Post

Opposition-backed protests against the government dragged Haiti into recession in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic even hit, and a steady deprecation in the gourde currency has put pressure on businesses heavily reliant on foreign imports.

From Reuters