florin

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: flor=in

CIDE DICTIONARY

florin, n. [F. florin, It. florino, orig., a Florentine coin, with a lily on it, fr. flore a flower, fr. L. flos. See Flower, and cf. Floren.].

 A silver coin of Florence, first struck in the twelfth century, and noted for its beauty. The name is given to different coins in different countries. The florin of England, first minted in 1849, is worth two shillings, or about 48 cents; the florin of the Netherlands, about 40 cents; of Austria, about 36 cents.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

florin, n. hist.
1 a a British silver or alloy two-shilling coin of the 19th-20th c. (now worth 10 pence at face value). b an English gold coin of the 14th c., worth 6s. 8d. (33 pence).
2 a foreign coin of gold or silver, esp. a Dutch guilder.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. It. fiorino dimin. of fiore flower f. L flos floris, the orig. coin having a figure of a lily on it