sterling

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: Ster=ling

CIDE DICTIONARY

sterling, n. 

 Same as Starling, 3.  [1913 Webster]

sterling, n. [OE. sterlynge, starling, for easterling, LL. esterlingus, probably from Easterling, once the popular name of German trades in England, whose money was of the purest quality: cf. MHG. sterlink a certain coin. Cf. East. “Certain merchants of Norwaie, Denmarke, and of others those parties, called Ostomanni, or (as in our vulgar language we tearme them), easterlings, because they lie east in respect of us.” Holinshed. “In the time of . . . King Richard the First, monie coined in the east parts of Germanie began to be of especiall request in England for the puritie thereof, and was called Easterling monie, as all inhabitants of those parts were called Easterlings, and shortly after some of that countrie, skillful in mint matters and allaies, were sent for into this realme to bring the coine to perfection; which since that time was called of them sterling, for Easterling.” Camden. “Four thousand pound of sterlings.” R. of Gloucester.].

•  Any English coin of standard value; coined money.  [1913 Webster]

  "So that ye offer nobles or sterlings."  [1913 Webster]

  "And Roman wealth in English sterling view."  [1913 Webster]
•  A certain standard of quality or value for money.  [1913 Webster]

  "Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign."  [1913 Webster]

sterling, a. 

•  Belonging to, or relating to, the standard British money of account, or the British coinage; as, a pound sterling; a shilling sterling; a penny sterling; -- now chiefly applied to the lawful money of England; but sterling cost, sterling value, are used.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest standard; of full value; as, a work of sterling merit; a man of sterling good sense.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

sterling, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 of or in British money (pound sterling).
2 (of a coin or precious metal) genuine; of standard value or purity.
3 (of a person or qualities etc.) of solid worth; genuine, reliable (sterling work).
--n. British money (paid in sterling).

Idiom

sterling area a group of countries with currencies tied to British sterling and holding reserves mainly in sterling. sterling silver silver of 921/2% purity.

Derivative

sterlingness n.

Etymology

prob. f. late OE steorling (unrecorded) f. steorra star + -LING(1) (because some early Norman pennies bore a small star): recorded earlier in OF esterlin

THESAURUS

sterling

Christian, admirable, and pence, authentic, blameless, bona fide, candid, capital, card-carrying, cash, circulating medium, clean, coinage, coined liberty, cold cash, creditable, currency, decent, dinkum, divine, dollars, emergency money, erect, estimable, ethical, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fair, filthy lucre, financial, fine, first-class, fiscal, following the letter, fractional currency, full of integrity, genuine, gilt-edged, glorious, gold, golden, good, hard cash, hard currency, heavenly, high-minded, high-principled, highly respectable, honest, honest-to-God, honorable, immaculate, immense, inartificial, incomparable, inviolate, irreproachable, just, law-abiding, law-loving, law-revering, lawful, legal tender, legitimate, lifelike, literal, lucre, magnificent, mammon, managed currency, manly, marvelous, matchless, medium of exchange, mintage, monetary, money, moral, natural, naturalistic, necessity money, noble, nonpareil, numismatic, nummary, original, pecuniary, peerless, pelf, postage currency, postal currency, pounds, principled, pure, real, realistic, reputable, respectable, right, right-minded, righteous, rightful, scrip, sensational, shillings, silver, simon-pure, simple, sincere, soft currency, specie, splendid, splendiferous, spotless, stainless, sumptuary, super, superb, supereminent, superexcellent, superfine, superior, superlative, sure-enough, terrific, the almighty dollar, the wherewith, the wherewithal, tremendous, true, true to life, true to nature, true to reality, true-dealing, true-devoted, true-disposing, true-souled, true-spirited, truehearted, unadulterated, unaffected, unassumed, unassuming, unblemished, uncolored, unconcocted, uncopied, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, uncounterfeited, undefiled, undisguised, undisguising, undistorted, unexaggerated, unfabricated, unfanciful, unfeigned, unfeigning, unfictitious, unflattering, unimagined, unimitated, unimpeachable, uninvented, unpretended, unpretending, unqualified, unromantic, unsimulated, unspecious, unspotted, unstained, unsullied, unsynthetic, untarnished, unvarnished, upright, uprighteous, upstanding, verbal, verbatim, veridical, verisimilar, very good, virtuous, wonderful, word-for-word, worthy, yeomanly

ROGET THESAURUS

sterling

Money

N money, legal tender, money matters, money market, finance, accounts, funds, treasure, capital, stock, assets, wealth, supplies, ways and means, wherewithal, sinews of war, almighty dollar, needful, cash, mammon, dough, cabbage, money-like instruments, M, M, sum, amount, balance, balance sheet, sum total, proceeds, currency, circulating medium, specie, coin, piece, hard cash, cold cash, dollar, sterling coin, pounds shillings and pence, Ls, d, pocket, breeches pocket, purse, money in hand, cash at hand, ready money, ready cash, slug, wad wad of bills, wad of money, thick wad of bills, roll of dough, rhino, blunt, dust, mopus, tin, salt, chink, argent comptant, bottom dollar, buzzard dollar, checks, dibs, double eagle, eagle, Federal currency, fractional currency, postal currency, Federal Reserve Note, United States Note, silver certificate, gold certificate, long bit, short bit, moss, nickel, pile, pin money, quarter, red cent, roanoke, rock, seawan, seawant, thousand dollars, grand, single, one-dollar bill, two- dollar bill, five-dollar bill, fiver, fin, Lincoln, ten-dollar bill, sawbuck, twenty-dollar bill, Jackson, double sawbuck, fifty-dollar bill, hundred-dollar bill, C-note, penny, cent, Lincoln cent, indian head penny, copper, two-cent piece three-cent piece, half- dime, nickel, buffalo nickel, V nickel, dime, disme, mercury dime, quarter, two bits, half dollar, dollar, silver dollar, Eisenhower dollar, Susan B, Anthony dollar, precious metals, gold, silver, copper, bullion, ingot, nugget, petty cash, pocket money, change, small change, small coin, doit, stiver, rap, mite, farthing, sou, penny, shilling, tester, groat, guinea, rouleau, wampum, good sum, round sum, lump sum, power of money, plum, lac of rupees, major coin, crown, minor coin, monetarist, monetary theory, numismatics, chrysology, numismatist, paper money, greenback, major denomination, minor denomination, money order, postal money order, Post Office order, bank note, bond, bill, bill of exchange, order, warrant, coupon, debenture, exchequer bill, assignat, blueback, hundi, shinplaster, note, note of hand, promissory note, I O U, draft, check, cheque, back-dated check, negotiable order of withdrawal, NOW, remittance, credit, liability, drawer, drawee, obligor, obligee, moneyer, coiner, false money, bad money, base coin, flash note, slip, kite, fancy stocks, Bank of Elegance, argumentum ad crumenam, letter of credit, circulation, multiplier effect, inflation, double-digit inflation, hyperinflation, erosion of the currency, debasement of the currency, deflation, stagflation, exchange rate, rate of exchange, floating exchange rates, fixed rates, currency counter, currency exchange, bureau de change, gold-backed currency, gold standard, silver standard, bank account, savings account, checking account, money market account, NOW account, time deposit, deposit, demand deposit, super NOW account, certificate of deposit, CD, $, US$, Y, A$, Federal Reserve Bank, central bank, Federal Reserve Board, board of governors of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Secret Service, mint, bureau of engraving, seigniorage, counterfeit, funny money, bogus money, (falsehood), interest, interest rate, discount rate, monetary, pecuniary, crumenal, fiscal, financial, sumptuary, numismatic, numismatical, sterling, nummary, barbarus ipse placet dummodo sit dives, but the jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that, Gelt regiert die Welt, money rules the world, money makes the world go round, nervos belli pecuniam infinitam, redet Geld so schweigt die Welt, money is the mother's milk of politics, money is the root of all evil, money isn't everything, as phony as a three-dollar bill, don't take any wooden nickels.

Virtue

N virtue, virtuousness, morality, moral rectitude, integrity, nobleness, morals, ethics, cardinal virtues, merit, worth, desert, excellence, credit, self-control, self-denial, well-doing, good actions, good behavior, discharge of duty, fulfillment of duty, performance of duty, well-spent life, innocence, virtuous, good, innocent, meritorious, deserving, worthy, desertful, correct, dutiful, duteous, moral, right, righteous, right- minded, well-intentioned, creditable, laudable, commendable, praiseworthy, above all praise, beyond all praise, excellent, admirable, sterling, pure, noble, whole-souled, exemplary, matchless, peerless, saintly, saint-like, heaven-born, angelic, seraphic, godlike, virtuously, adj, e merito, esse quam videri bonus malebat, Schonheit vergeht Tugend besteht, virtue the greatest of all monarchies, virtus laudatur et alget, virtus vincit invidiam.

Truth

N truth, fact, reality, plain fact, plain matter of fact, nature, truth, verity, gospel, gospel truth, God's honest truth, orthodoxy, authenticity, veracity, correctness, correctitude, accuracy, exactitude, exactness, preciseness, precision, delicacy, rigor, mathematical precision, punctuality, clockwork precision, conformity to rule, nicety, orthology, ipsissima verba, realism, plain truth, honest truth, sober truth, naked truth, unalloyed truth, unqualified truth, stern truth, exact truth, intrinsic truth, nuda veritas, the very thing, not an illusion, real Simon Pure, unvarnished tale, unvarnished truth, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the trut, just the thing, real, actual, veritable, true, right, correct, certain, substantially true, categorically true, definitively true, true to the letter, true as gospel, unimpeachable, veracious, unreconfuted, unconfuted, unideal, unimagined, realistic, exact, accurate, definite, precise, well-defined, just, just so, so, strict, severe, close, literal, rigid, rigorous, scrupulous, religiously exact, punctual, mathematical, scientific, faithful, constant, unerring, curious, particular, nice, delicate, fine, clean-cut, clear-cut, verified, empirically true, experimentally verified, substantiated, proven (demonstrated), rigorously true, unquestionably true, true by definition, genuine, authentic, legitimate, orthodox, official, ex officio, pure, natural, sound, sterling, unsophisticated, unadulterated, unvarnished, unalloyed, uncolored, in its true colors, pukka, well-grounded, well founded, solid, substantial, tangible, valid, undistorted, undisguised, unaffected, unexaggerated, unromantic, unflattering, truly, verily, indeed, really, in reality, with truth, certainly, actually, in effect, exactly, ad amussim, verbatim, verbatim et literatim, word for word, literally, literatim, totidem vervis, sic, to the letter, chapter and verse, ipsissimis verbis, ad unguem, to an inch, to a nicety, to a hair, to a tittle, to a turn, to a T, au pied de la lettre, neither more nor less, in every respect, in all respects, sous tous les rapports, at any rate, at all events, strictly speaking, the truth is, the fact is, rem acu tetigisti, en suivant la verite, ex facto jus oritur, la verita e figlia del empo, locos y ninos dicen la verdad, crazy people and children tell the truth, nihil est veritatis luce dulcius, veritas nunquam perit, veritatem dies aperit, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.