pataca

[ puh-tah-kuh ]

noun

1. a nickel, silver, or cupronickel coin and monetary unit of Macao, equal to 100 avos.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pataca¹

1575–85; < Portuguese ≪ Arabic abū ṭāqah a kind of coin

Example Sentences

Galaxy and Sands may invest more than 20 billion patacas each, while the others will invest less than 20 billion patacas.

From Reuters

It has its own local currency, the patacas, and differing local laws, including legal gambling, which makes up a huge chunk of the economy.

From BBC

It has its own judiciary and its own currency, the pataca.

From New York Times

She shares a 400 sq ft apartment in the Sam Can Tang neighbourhood with 11 others, renting a bunk bed, which including bills, comes to 1,200 patacas a month.

From The Guardian

At one of its bigger branches, your correspondent was able to sell 820 patacas for a crisp $100 note, bearing the signature of a former secretary of the Treasury.

From Economist