$

Character	$
Unicode name	DOLLAR SIGN
Codepoint	U+0024
# ← Basic Latin → %

See also Appendix:Variations of "s", ＄, ﹩, Ֆ, and ֆ

Translingual

Etymology

$ appears to have evolved ca 1775 in the United States from a common abbreviation for pesos, also known as piastres or pieces of eight, a P–raised S ligature P^S that passed through a stage resembling ֆ. It was used in the US before the adoption of the dollar in 1785.

Noun

$

1. (used everywhere except in the Philippines) Abbreviation of peso.
2. Abbreviation of dollar.

Letter

$

1. (figuratively) A substitute for the letter S or a space or hyphen used as a symbol of (perceived) greedy business practices

   for example: "Micro$oft Window$"

2. (programming) used to indicate a variable

Usage notes

The symbol precedes the number it qualifies, despite being pronounced second (in English). For example, “$1” is read as “one dollar” not “dollar one”.

See also

Currency signs

¤ – generic currency sign ؋ - afghani ฿ – baht ¢ – cent ₡ – colón ₵ – cedi $ – dollar ₫ – dong € – euro ƒ – florin (also called guilder and gulden)

₲ – guarani ₴ – hryvnia ₭ – kip ₥ – mill ₦ – naira ₱ – peso £ – pound ﷼ – riyal ៛ – riel ރ – rufiyaa

₨ – rupee ௹ – rupee ৲ or ৳ – taka (in Bangladesh) ૱ – rupee (in Gujarat) ₪ – new shekel ₸ - tenge ₮ – tugrik ₩ – won ¥ – yen

Formerly used currency signs

₳ – austral ₠ – ECU (European Currency Unit) ₢ – cruzeiro ₯ – drachma

₣ – franc ₤ – lira ₶ - Livres Tournois ℳ – mark

₧ – peseta ₰ – pfennig ₷ - spesmilo