bezant
English
Alternative forms
- besant, byzant
- bezaunt (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English besaunt, from Old French bezant, nominative bezanz, from Latin byzantius (“of Byzantium”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɛzənt/
Noun
bezant (plural bezants)
- (historical) A coin made of gold or silver, minted at Byzantium and used in currency throughout mediaeval Europe.
- Synonym: solidus
- (heraldry) The heraldic representation of a gold coin.
- 1941 December, “The Why and the Wherefore: Cornish names of G.W.R. locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 575:
- One and All is the motto of the County of Cornwall, used below the coat-of-arms, which is a shield embracing fifteen bezants, or golden roundels, on a black ground; [...].
-
Translations
coin minted at Byzantium
|
heraldic representation of a gold coin
|
Anagrams
- batzen
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch besant, from Old French bezant, from Latin byzantius.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bəˈzɑnt/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: be‧zant
- Rhymes: -ɑnt
Noun
bezant m (plural bezanten, diminutive bezantje n)
- bezant (coin)
- (heraldry) bezant
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bə.zɑ̃/
Audio (file) - Homophones: besant, besants, bezants
Noun
bezant m (plural bezants)
- bezant (coin)
Further reading
- “bezant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old French
Noun
bezant m (oblique plural bezanz or bezantz, nominative singular bezanz or bezantz, nominative plural bezant)
- bezant (coin)