Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site umd5.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!mtuxo!mtunh!mtung!mtunf!ariel!vax135!timeinc!phri!pesnta!amd!vecpyr!lll-crg!gymble!umcp-cs!cvl!umd5!zben From: zben@umd5.UUCP Newsgroups: net.misc,net.jokes,net.nlang Subject: Re: Ah ! The Good Old Times Message-ID: <621@umd5.UUCP> Date: Sat, 29-Jun-85 13:00:55 EDT Article-I.D.: umd5.621 Posted: Sat Jun 29 13:00:55 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 3-Jul-85 06:15:28 EDT References: <1046@peora.UUCP> <305@ihlpa.UUCP> <196@frog.UUCP> <196@persci.UUCP> Reply-To: zben@umd5.UUCP (Ben Cranston) Distribution: net Organization: U of Md, CSC, College Park, Md Lines: 15 Xref: watmath net.misc:8182 net.jokes:13047 net.nlang:3311 Summary: Etymology of "dollar", from "thaler"? In article <196@persci.UUCP> bill@persci.UUCP writes: >By the way, does anybody know the origin of the word 'dollar'? I've never met >anyone who does. The nearest word to it is the Spanish (Latin?) 'dolore', >which, I'm told, means 'pain'. >Bill Swan {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!persci!bill I thought it was taken from "thaler", a unit of money used by the ancient Greeks or Romans? Part of the fetish with the ancient democracies that seemed to afflict our founding fathers (pyramids with eyes and such). I think whatever root "dolore" came from survives in English in the term "dolorous", "full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow; distressed; grievous; mournful"... -- Ben Cranston ...{seismo!umcp-cs,ihnp4!rlgvax}!cvl!umd5!zben zben@umd2.ARPA