Definition

1. Noun:
   • A former British coin and monetary unit: A coin and unit of currency that was used in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries, equal to one twentieth of a pound or twelve old pence.
   • A modern unit of currency: The basic unit of money in several East African nations, including Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda, each subdivided into 100 cents.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Historical British):

  • Before decimalization in 1971, there were twenty shillings in a British pound.
  • The old price was often listed as 'five shillings and sixpence'.

• Noun (Modern East African):

  • The bus fare in Nairobi is fifty Kenyan shillings.
  • He exchanged his dollars for Ugandan shillings at the airport.

Advanced Usage and Idioms

• "To cut someone off with a shilling" (idiom, historical): To disinherit someone, often by leaving them only a token amount (like one shilling) in a will to show the disinheritance was intentional.

  • The angry father threatened to cut off his rebellious son with a shilling.

• "To take the King's/Queen's shilling" (idiom, historical): To enlist in the British army, referring to the historical practice of giving a shilling to a new recruit as a symbolic first payment.

  • In times of war, many young men would take the King's shilling.

Variants and Related Words

• Shilling mark: Another term for the slash (/) symbol, especially in its historical use to separate shillings and pence (e.g., 5/6 for five shillings and sixpence).
• Shillings: The standard plural form.

Synonyms

• Bob (noun, informal, historical British): A colloquial term for a shilling.
  • It cost me a few bob.
• Coin / Monetary unit: General terms.

Related Phrases

• Shilling shocker (noun, historical): A cheap, sensational novel or story, originally costing one shilling.
  • He enjoyed reading Victorian shilling shockers.

Noun

1. an English coin worth one twentieth of a pound
2. a former monetary unit in Great Britain
3. the basic unit of money in Kenya; equal to 100 cents
4. the basic unit of money in Somalia; equal to 100 cents
5. the basic unit of money in Tanzania; equal to 100 cents
6. the basic unit of money in Uganda; equal to 100 cents