shekel

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English

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Half shekel dated 68/9 CE

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Hebrew שֶׁקֶל (shékel, shekel), from שָׁקַל (shakál, to weigh), from Akkadian 𒂅 (šiqlum).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈʃɛkəl/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛkəl
  • Hyphenation: shek‧el

Noun

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shekel (plural shekels or shekalim)

  1. A currency unit of both ancient and modern Israel.
  2. (slang) Money.
    • 1914, The Judge, volume 66:
      Her gownlet cost five hundred beans; / Her furs, four figures in a row; / Her hat removed from papa's jeans / A hundred shekels more or so.
    • 1924, James Alban Wilson, Sport and Service in Assam and Elsewhere, page 288:
      [] after the 1887-9 campaign was the great refuge of the destitute who, as they could not hope to rake in a breast-full of medals and decorations, expected, at any rate, to amass a good few shekels.
    • 2018, Gerry Woodhouse, Lord Damnus: Conqueror of the World:
      The mob had filched anything that might earn them a shekel or two.
  3. (historical) An ancient unit of weight equivalent to one-fiftieth of a mina.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Hebrew שֶׁקֶל (shékel, shekel), from שָׁקַל (shakál, to weigh).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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shekel m (plural shekels)

  1. shekel (unit of currency)

Portuguese

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Noun

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shekel m (plural shekels)

  1. sheqel (currency unit in Israel)