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sterling

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Sterling

English

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WOTD – 8 December 2025

Pronunciation

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The obverse and reverse of a penny issued by William the Conqueror (reigned 1066–1087).

Etymology 1

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The noun is from Early Middle English sterling (“English silver penny; such pennies collectively, or their value; standard English currency; pennyweight”);[1] further etymology uncertain, probably from Old English *steorling (“coin with a star”) (thought to describe a penny introduced in England by the Normans), from steorra (“star”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”), from *h₂eHs- (“to burn; to glow”))+ -ling (diminutive suffix).[2]

The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.

Noun

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sterling (countable and uncountable, plural sterlings)

  1. (countable, obsolete except historical) An English silver penny first introduced by the Normans.
  2. (by extension)
    1. (countable) A penny issued in other countries, such as Scotland.
    2. (uncountable) The currency of the United Kingdom, based on the pound sterling; hence, genuine English or British currency, as contrasted with foreign currency.
    3. (uncountable) Short for sterling silver (“an alloy containing not less than 92.5 percent silver, the remainder usually being copper; articles made from this alloy collectively”).
      • 1977, Ed McBain [pseudonym; Evan Hunter], chapter 4, in Long Time No See […], new edition, London: Coronet Books, published 1994, →ISBN, page 59:
        Many of the women cleaned house for other women, soaping fine china and polishing heavy sterling, […]
    4. (uncountable, historical) Former British gold or silver coinage of a standard fineness (0.91666 for gold and 0.925 for silver).
      • 1745, Stephen Martin Leake, “John, A.D. 1199”, in An Historical Account of English Money, from the Conquest, to the Present Time; […], 2nd edition, London: […] W. Meadows, […], →OCLC, page 62:
        […] Sterling vvas the knovvn and approved Standard in England, in all Probability, from the Beginning of King Henry the Second's Reign. But King John vvas undoubtedly the firſt vvho introduced Sterling Money in Ireland.
    5. (obsolete)
      1. (countable) Synonym of pennyweight (“a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, or 1⁄20 of a troy ounce”)
        • 1611, Randle Cotgrave, compiler, “Carat”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, signature O ij, verso, column 1:
          [E]ight of them [carats] make but one Sterlin, and a Sterlin is the 24 part of an ounce.
      2. (uncountable) Money generally.
      3. (uncountable) The standard degree of fineness.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Adjective

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sterling (not generally comparable, comparative more sterling, superlative most sterling)

  1. (not comparable)
    1. Of or relating to the currency of the United Kingdom, or former types of English or British coinage.
    2. Of silver: being of standard quality.
    3. Of a thing: of or relating to, or made from, sterling silver.
    4. (archaic) Of English (or (obsolete) Scottish) currency: genuine, of legal tender.
  2. (comparable, figurative)
    1. Of acknowledged influence; authoritative; also, of high or excellent quality; of proven worth.
      • 1655, James Howell, “XLIV. To Sir L. D. in Paris.”, in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ. Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren. […], 3rd edition, volume IV, London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], →OCLC, section VI, page 496:
        […] I knovv your Opinion is current and ſterling: […]
      • 1755, [Edward Young], “Letter V. Life’s Review.”, in The Centaur Not Fabulous. […], London: […] A[ndrew] Millar […]; [a]nd R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC, page 238:
        This love, ſuppoſing it ſterling, I (ſtultus ego [I am foolish]!) return'd in kind: But I do not repent it.
      • 1781 (date written), William Cowper, “Table Talk”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1782, →OCLC, page 33:
        Then decent pleaſantry and ſterling ſenſe / That never gave nor vvould endure offence, / VVhipp'd out of ſight vvith ſatyr juſt and keen, / The puppy pack that had defil'd the ſcene.
      • 1832, [Washington Irving], “The Household”, in The Alhambra: A Series of Tales and Sketches of the Moors and Spaniards. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey & [Isaac] Lea, →OCLC, pages 75–76:
        The nephew, Manuel Molina, is a young man of sterling worth and Spanish gravity.
      • 1860 January – 1861 April, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Lufton’s Ambassador”, in Framley Parsonage. […] (Collection of British Authors; 551), copyright edition, volume I, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published April 1861, →OCLC, page 219:
        I have said that Mr. Crawley was a stern, unpleasant man; and it certainly was so. The man must be made of very sterling stuff, whom continued and undeserved misfortune does not make unpleasant.
      • 1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “[Poem] LXII”, in A Shropshire Lad, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, The Bodley Head, published 1906, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 92:
        Then the world seemed none so bad, / And I myself a sterling lad; / And down in lovely muck I've lain, / Happy till I woke again.
      • 2014 December 13, Mandeep Sanghera, “Burnley 1 – 0 Southampton”, in BBC Sport‎[1], archived from the original on 11 April 2025:
        Southampton had been hoping to get back to winning ways to prove to their critics there was substance to their sterling start to the season.
      • 2016 January 31, William D[avid] Cohan, quoting Miguel Rodríguez, “Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon or Her Next Big Problem?”, in Graydon Carter, editor, Vanity Fair‎[2], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast, published February 2016, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 January 2016:
        Neither the law nor the facts support Senator [Charles] Grassley's baseless allegations and extrapolated conclusions. It is disappointing that the senator and his staff continue to focus a politically motivated campaign on Ms. [Huma] Abedin, who has been known her entire professional life for hard work, integrity, and her sterling reputation. It is people like Ms. Abedin whom we should all want in public service.
      • 2021 October 6, Greg Morse, “A Need for Speed and the Drive for 125”, in Rail, number 941, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 53:
        HSTs [high-speed trains] continued to provide sterling service during these years, so much so that when Virgin and Midland Mainline brought their new wave of high-speed diesel electric multiple units […] on stream, many preferred the ride and comfort of the vanquished to the ride and comfort of the vanquisher.
    2. (obsolete) Having currency (“general acceptance, recognition, or use”).
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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See starling (etymology 1).

Noun

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sterling (plural sterlings)

  1. Obsolete form of starling (“a family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds; specifically, the common starling, Sturnus vulgaris, which has dark, iridescent plumage”). [Middle English–18th c.]

Etymology 3

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See starling (etymology 2).

Noun

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sterling (plural sterlings)

  1. (construction) Obsolete form of starling (“an enclosure like a coffer-dam, formed of piles driven closely together before any structure or work, as a protection against the wash of waves, commonly used to protect the piers of a bridge”). [18th–20th c.]
    • 1923 June – 1927 February (date written), Henry Williamson, Tarka the Otter […], London; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published October 1927, →OCLC, first year, page 8:
      Near the bridge the bubbles rose large as oak-apples; he was kicking four webs together, having sighted the fish. The bubbles ended in another swirl by a weed-fringed sterling, and a delicate swift water-arrow shot away between the two piers of the middle arch—the peal, or sea-trout, had gone down, passing three inches off the snapt jaws.

References

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  1. ^ “sterling, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “sterling, n.1 and adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2025; “sterling, n. and adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Polish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English sterling.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sterling m animal

  1. alternative form of szterling
    Synonyms: funt, funt sterling, funt szterling, szterling

Declension

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Declension of sterling
singular plural
nominative sterling sterlingi
genitive sterlinga sterlingów
dative sterlingowi sterlingom
accusative sterlinga sterlingi
instrumental sterlingiem sterlingami
locative sterlingu sterlingach
vocative sterlingu sterlingi

Derived terms

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adjective

Further reading

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