peso

See also: Peso, pesó, pesò, and pêso

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-sos

Latin -sus

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Latin -sum

Latin pēnsum

Vulgar Latin *pēsum

Old Spanish peso

Spanish pesobor.

English peso

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪsəʊ/
• (Philippines) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛso/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (UK) -eɪsəʊ, (Philippines) -ɛso

Noun

peso (plural pesos)

1. (historical) A former unit of currency in Spain and Spain's colonies, worth 8 reales; the Spanish dollar.
2. The circulating currency of various Spanish-speaking American countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Uruguay) and the Philippines.
   • 2023 October 23, Anna Cooban, “Javier Milei wants Argentina to swap the peso for the US dollar. Here’s what that could mean”, in CNN Business‎^[1]:

     The value of the peso has plummeted 858% against the US dollar over the past five years as the central bank printed more of the currency to help the country’s spendthrift government avoid defaulting on its debts. […] To dollarize its economy, Argentina would need to exchange all pesos held by its people and businesses for US dollars, and assign a dollar value to all of its assets and contracts.

Synonyms

• adarme (former Spanish coin), Spanish dollar

Derived terms

• pesoization
• pesoize
• peso ley
• South Pacific peso

Related terms

• avoirdupois
• pansy
• pensive
• poise

Translations

currency

• Arabic: بِيزُو m (bīzū), بِيسُو m (bīsū)
• Asturian: pesu m
• Bikol:

  Central Bikol: piso (bcl)

• Bulgarian: пе́со n (péso)
• Catalan: peso (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 比索 (zh) (bǐsuǒ), 披索 (zh) (pīsuǒ)

• Czech: peso (cs) n
• Finnish: peso (fi)
• French: peso (fr) m, péso (fr) m
• German: Peso (de) m
• Greek: πέσο (el) n (péso)
• Hindi: पेसो (peso)
• Japanese: ペソ (ja) (peso)
• Khmer: ពេសូ (peiso)
• Korean: 페소 (peso)
• Latin: pensum
• Macedonian: песо n (peso)
• Malay: peso (ms)
• Māori: peho
• Marathi: पेसो (peso)
• Persian: پزو
• Polish: peso (pl) n
• Portuguese: peso (pt) m
• Romanian: peso (ro) m
• Russian: пе́со (ru) n (péso)
• Spanish: peso (es) m
• Tagalog: piso (tl)
• Thai: เปโซ (bpee-soo)
• Turkish: peso (tr)
• Ukrainian: песо (peso)
• Yiddish: פּעסאָ m (peso)

Anagrams

• opes, pose, ESOP, epos, EOPs, poës, Poes, poes, OPEs, posé, Epos, POEs, EPOs, peos, PEOs, sope

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈpe̞.zu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈpə.zo]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈpɛ.zu]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈpe.zo]

Verb

peso

1. first-person singular present indicative of pesar

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish peso (“weight”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: pe‧so

Noun

peso

1. weight
2. peso (unit of currency)

Czech

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-sos

Latin -sus

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Latin -sum

Latin pēnsum

Vulgar Latin *pēsum

Old Spanish peso

Spanish pesobor.

Czech peso

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɛso]
• Rhymes: -ɛso
• Hyphenation: pe‧so

Noun

peso n

1. peso (any of multiple currencies)

Declension

Declension of peso (hard neuter // indeclinable neuter)

	singular	plural
nominative	peso	pesa, pesos
genitive	pesa	pes, pesos
dative	pesu	pesům, pesos
accusative	peso	pesa, pesos
vocative	peso	pesa, pesos
locative	pesu	pesech, pesos
instrumental	pesem	pesy, pesos

Further reading

• “peso”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “peso”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “peso”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Noun

peso

1. (mexican) peso

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeso/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eso
• Syllabification: pe‧so

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-sos

Latin -sus

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Latin -sum

Latin pēnsum

Vulgar Latin *pēsum

Old Spanish peso

Spanish pesobor.

Esperanto peso

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Noun

peso (accusative singular peson, plural pesoj, accusative plural pesojn)

1. (numismatics) peso

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Latin pēnsō

Old French peser

Middle French peser

French peserbor.

▲

Latin pēnsō

Italian pesarebor.

▲

Latin pēnsō

Old Spanish pesar

Spanish pesarbor.

▲

Latin pēnsō

Old Galician-Portuguese pesar

Portuguese pesarbor.

Esperanto pesi

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Italic *-os

Archaic Latin -os

Latin -um

Italian -oder.

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Spanish -oder.

Ancient Greek -οι (-oi)der.

Esperanto -o

Esperanto peso

From pesi + -o.

Noun

peso (accusative singular peson, plural pesoj, accusative plural pesojn)

1. weighing (measuring weight)
   • 1927, “Levidoj 19”, in L. L. Zamenhof, transl., Malnova Testamento, translation of Old Testament (in Hebrew), line 35:

     Ne faru maljustaĵon en la juĝo, en la mezuro, en la peso, en la amplekso.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “peso”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “peso”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeso/, [ˈpe̞s̠o̞]
• Rhymes: -eso
• Syllabification^(key): pe‧so
• Hyphenation^(key): pe‧so

Noun

peso

1. peso (currency; coin or note of one peso)

Declension

Inflection of peso (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		peso	pesot
genitive		peson	pesojen
partitive		pesoa	pesoja
illative		pesoon	pesoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		peso	pesot
accusative	nom.	peso	pesot
	gen.	peson
genitive		peson	pesojen
partitive		pesoa	pesoja
inessive		pesossa	pesoissa
elative		pesosta	pesoista
illative		pesoon	pesoihin
adessive		pesolla	pesoilla
ablative		pesolta	pesoilta
allative		pesolle	pesoille
essive		pesona	pesoina
translative		pesoksi	pesoiksi
abessive		pesotta	pesoitta
instructive		—	pesoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of peso (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative pesoni pesoni accusative nom. pesoni pesoni gen. pesoni genitive pesoni pesojeni partitive pesoani pesojani inessive pesossani pesoissani elative pesostani pesoistani illative pesooni pesoihini adessive pesollani pesoillani ablative pesoltani pesoiltani allative pesolleni pesoilleni essive pesonani pesoinani translative pesokseni pesoikseni abessive pesottani pesoittani instructive — — comitative — pesoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative pesosi pesosi accusative nom. pesosi pesosi gen. pesosi genitive pesosi pesojesi partitive pesoasi pesojasi inessive pesossasi pesoissasi elative pesostasi pesoistasi illative pesoosi pesoihisi adessive pesollasi pesoillasi ablative pesoltasi pesoiltasi allative pesollesi pesoillesi essive pesonasi pesoinasi translative pesoksesi pesoiksesi abessive pesottasi pesoittasi instructive — — comitative — pesoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative pesomme pesomme accusative nom. pesomme pesomme gen. pesomme genitive pesomme pesojemme partitive pesoamme pesojamme inessive pesossamme pesoissamme elative pesostamme pesoistamme illative pesoomme pesoihimme adessive pesollamme pesoillamme ablative pesoltamme pesoiltamme allative pesollemme pesoillemme essive pesonamme pesoinamme translative pesoksemme pesoiksemme abessive pesottamme pesoittamme instructive — — comitative — pesoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative pesonne pesonne accusative nom. pesonne pesonne gen. pesonne genitive pesonne pesojenne partitive pesoanne pesojanne inessive pesossanne pesoissanne elative pesostanne pesoistanne illative pesoonne pesoihinne adessive pesollanne pesoillanne ablative pesoltanne pesoiltanne allative pesollenne pesoillenne essive pesonanne pesoinanne translative pesoksenne pesoiksenne abessive pesottanne pesoittanne instructive — — comitative — pesoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative pesonsa pesonsa accusative nom. pesonsa pesonsa gen. pesonsa genitive pesonsa pesojensa partitive pesoaan pesoansa pesojaan pesojansa inessive pesossaan pesossansa pesoissaan pesoissansa elative pesostaan pesostansa pesoistaan pesoistansa illative pesoonsa pesoihinsa adessive pesollaan pesollansa pesoillaan pesoillansa ablative pesoltaan pesoltansa pesoiltaan pesoiltansa allative pesolleen pesollensa pesoilleen pesoillensa essive pesonaan pesonansa pesoinaan pesoinansa translative pesokseen pesoksensa pesoikseen pesoiksensa abessive pesottaan pesottansa pesoittaan pesoittansa instructive — — comitative — pesoineen pesoinensa

Further reading

• “peso”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

Anagrams

• pose

French

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. peso

Further reading

• “peso”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese peso, from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum.

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. weight
2. peso (unit of currency)

Derived terms

• peso molecular
• pesos e contrapesos
• pesos e medidas

Related terms

• pesar

Etymology 2

Verb

peso

1. first-person singular present indicative of pesar

Italian

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zo/, (traditional) /ˈpe.so/
• Rhymes: -ezo, (traditional) -eso
• Hyphenation: pé‧so

Noun

peso m (plural pesi)

1. weight

Related terms

• pesalettere
• pesante
• pesare
• pesata
• pesiera
• pesista
• pesistica

Etymology 2

Deverbal from pesare +‎ -o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zo/, (traditional) /ˈpe.so/
• Rhymes: -ezo, (traditional) -eso
• Hyphenation: pé‧so

Adjective

peso (feminine pesa, masculine plural pesi, feminine plural pese)

1. (informal, Tuscany) heavy
2. (informal, Tuscany, figurative) oppressive

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zo/, (traditional) /ˈpe.so/
• Rhymes: -ezo, (traditional) -eso
• Hyphenation: pé‧so

Verb

peso

1. first-person singular present indicative of pesare

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.zo/
• Rhymes: -ɛzo
• Hyphenation: pè‧so

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. peso

Anagrams

• epos, pose

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin pensum, via English peso and Spanish peso.

Noun

peso m (definite singular pesoen, indefinite plural peso or pesos, definite plural pesoene)

1. a peso (currency unit of several Latin American countries, as well as the Philippines)

References

• “peso” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin pensum, via English peso and Spanish peso.

Noun

peso m (definite singular pesoen, indefinite plural peso or pesos, definite plural pesoane)

1. a peso (currency unit, as above)

References

• “peso” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-sos

Latin -sus

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Latin -sum

Latin pēnsum

Vulgar Latin *pēsum

Old Spanish peso

From Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, from pendō (“to weigh”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpezo/

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. weight
   • c. 1250, Alfonso X, Lapidario, page 53r.:

     Et a tal uertud que ſi la ponẽ ſobre mill peſos de pez faz los feruir por ſu p̃p̃dat biẽ como si estudieſſen a fuego.

     And its virtue it such that if it is put over a thousand weights of pitch it lights them due to its property, as if they were on fire.

   • c. 1250, Alfonso X, Lapidario, page 79r.:

     La ſegunda es q̃ ſi beuiere om̃e della peſo duna dragma purga melanconia temprada miente ⁊ bien.

     The second is that if one were to drink of it the weight of one drachma, it purges black bile soon and well.

Synonyms

• pesadumbre f

Related terms

• pesado (“heavy”)
• pesar (“to weigh”)

Descendants

• Spanish: peso

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish peso, from Old Spanish peso, from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, from pendō. Doublet of pensum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.sɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsɔ
• Syllabification: pe‧so

Noun

peso n (indeclinable)

1. peso (designation for specific currency)

Declension

Indeclinable

or:

Declension of peso

	singular	plural
nominative	peso	pesos
genitive	peso	pesos
dative	peso	pesos
accusative	peso	pesos
instrumental	peso	pesos
locative	peso	pesos
vocative	peso	pesos

Further reading

• “peso”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “peso”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese peso, from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, from the verb penso (“to weigh”).

Alternative forms

• pêso (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zu/

• (Porto) IPA^(key): /ˈp(j)e.zu/

• Audio (Portugal):

  (file)

• Audio (Northern Portugal):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ezu
• Hyphenation: pe‧so

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. weight (force on an object due to the gravitational attraction)
2. heaviness (the condition of being heavy)
3. weight (object used for its heaviness)
   1. (weightlifting) weight (heavy object lifted for strength training)
   2. (athletics) shot (heavy ball thrown in shot put)
4. (figurative) weight (importance or influence)
   • 2008, Jorge Araújo, Pedro Sousa Pereira, Cinco balas contra a América, Editora 34, →ISBN, pages 29–30:

     — É claro que não... é claro que não — o aspirante a guerrilheiro baixou a bola da conversa. — Pensei que fosse um lapso, apenas queria chamar a atenção do camarada comandante — acrescentou com palavras vergadas ao peso da autoridade.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

5. (figurative) emotional pressure
6. (sports) weight class (subdivision of a competition based on the competitors’ weight)
7. (mathematics) weight (value that multiplies a variable)
8. (typography) weight; boldness (thickness of a character’s strokes)

Synonyms

• (heaviness): pesadez (less common)

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “heaviness”): leveza

Derived terms

• a peso de ouro
• de peso
• dois pesos e duas medidas
• em peso
• pesão (augmentative)
• pesinho (diminutive)
• peso aderente
• peso atómico
• peso bruto
• peso específico
• peso leve
• peso líquido
• peso médio
• peso meio-médio
• peso meio-pesado
• peso molecular
• peso morto
• peso pesado
• pesozinho (diminutive)
• prematuro de peso
• valer o seu peso em ouro

Related terms

• pesado
• pesagem
• pesar

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-sos

Latin -sus

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Latin -sum

Latin pēnsum

Vulgar Latin *pēsum

Old Spanish peso

Spanish pesobor.

Portuguese peso

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zu/, /ˈpe.su/, /ˈpe.so/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.zu/

• Hyphenation: pe‧so

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. peso (currency unit of Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the Philippines)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.zu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.zu/

• Rhymes: -ɛzu
• Hyphenation: pe‧so

Verb

peso

1. first-person singular present indicative of pesar

Further reading

• “peso”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “peso”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish peso.

Noun

peso m (plural peso)

1. peso

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	peso	pesoul	peso	pesoi
genitive-dative	peso	pesoului	peso	pesolor
vocative	pesoule		pesolor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeso/ [ˈpe.so]

• Audio (Peru):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eso
• Syllabification: pe‧so

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)péndeti

Proto-Italic *pendō

Latin pendō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-sos

Latin -sus

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Latin -sum

Latin pēnsum

Vulgar Latin *pēsum

Old Spanish peso

Spanish peso

Inherited from Old Spanish peso, from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, from pendō (“to weigh”). Doublet of the semi-learned pienso.

Noun

peso m (plural pesos)

1. (physics) weight (the force on an object due to gravitational attraction)
2. weight (a block of metal used in a balance)
3. weight class
4. peso (unit of currency)
   • 2025 June 3, EFE, “Autoridades mexicanas capturan a tres implicados en homicidio de integrantes de grupo musical”, in CNN en Español‎^[5]:

     Según fuentes oficiales y medios locales los tres detenidos son Santos ‘N’ alias ‘M-47’ o ‘Jimmy’, Raúl ‘N’ y Jesús Alejandro ‘N’ a quienes les aseguraron dos armas largas, tres armas cortas, 400 cartuchos, tres kilos de cocaína, cerca de cuatro kilos de metanfetamina, 14 dosis de marihuana, 800.000 pesos (unos US$ 41.000) y 12 vehículos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

5. weight (importance or influence)
6. weight, burden, load, brunt (pressure)
7. scales, scale (device used to measure weight)

   Synonyms: báscula, balanza, (archaic) estatera

Hyponyms

• peso atómico
• peso bruto
• peso específico
• peso gallo (“bantamweight”)
• peso ligero (“lightweight”)
• peso medio (“middleweight”)
• peso molecular
• peso mosca (“flyweight”)
• peso muerto
• peso neto
• peso pesado
• peso pluma (“featherweight”)
• peso semipesado (“cruiserweight”)
• peso wélter (“welterweight”)

Derived terms

• aumentar de peso (“to gain weight”)
• aumento de peso (“weight gain”)
• caer por su propio peso (“to be self-evident, to be obvious”)
• con bajo peso (“underweight”) (adj.)
• de peso
• de su peso
• en peso
• ganar peso
• lanzamiento de peso
• perder peso
• peso del cuerpo
• quitarse un peso de encima (“to take a load off”)
• razón de peso (“compelling reason, strong reason”)
• sin peso (“weightless”)
• todo cae por su propio peso (“what goes around comes around”)
• valer su peso en oro (“to be worth its weight in gold”)

Related terms

• pensar
• pesa
• pesar
• pienso

Descendants

• → Amis: payso
• → Central Bikol: piso
• → English: peso
• → Basque: pisu
• → Cebuano: piso
• → Tagalog: piso
• → Translingual: $
• → Navajo: béeso (“money”)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

peso

1. first-person singular present indicative of pesar

Further reading

• “peso”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈpeso/ [ˈpɛː.so]
• Rhymes: -eso
• Syllabification: pe‧so

Noun

peso (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜒᜐᜓ)

1. alternative form of piso