coinage
coinage — noun
1. the metal money pieces — such as a country's pennies, dimes, or yen coins — that
the metal money pieces — such as a country's pennies, dimes, or yen coins — that its government produces and its people use to buy things
The euro coinage includes pieces from eight different denominations, from one cent to two euros.
collocation: coinage + of [denominations]
Visitors to Britain often keep old penny coins as souvenirs of the country's coinage.
The museum displays a rare collection of silver coinage from the Ming dynasty period.
Some countries have replaced most of their coinage with paper bills or digital payments.
Ravi found enough coinage in his pockets to buy a coffee at the station.
- paper money
banknotes used alongside or instead of metal coins
- banknotes
paper currency as opposed to metal coinage
用法筆記
Uncountable only in this sense. Refers to coins as a collective system, not individual pieces. For a single piece of money, use the countable noun 'coin'.
常見錯誤
2. a term or expression that a speaker or writer creates for the first time — like
a term or expression that a speaker or writer creates for the first time — like 'selfie' or 'blog' — and that spreads into everyday use; also the process of creating such a term
The word 'selfie' is a relatively recent coinage that spread quickly through social media.
collocation: recent coinage
Linguists study how a new coinage enters a language and whether it survives over time.
coinage + enters a language (subject-verb pattern)
Aiko's playful coinage — 'hangry' for hungry and angry — became popular among her classmates.
Many internet coinages, such as 'meme' and 'tweet', are now found in standard dictionaries.
The Oxford English Dictionary records the first known use of each historical coinage it lists.
- archaism
an old or outdated word that is no longer in common use
- obsolete word
a word that has fallen out of use in the language
用法筆記
Can be countable (referring to a specific invented word, e.g. 'a recent coinage') or uncountable (referring to the process, e.g. 'the coinage of new terms'). Common in linguistic and literary discussion.