Etymologically
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sterling

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈstɜːlɪŋ/ (UK); /ˈstɜɹlɪŋ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English sterling, probably from an unrecorded Old English *steorling, from steorra, star, and -ling,[2][3][4][5] because some early Norman pennies bore a small star.[3][5][6] The word was known earlier on the Continent as Old French esterlin (perhaps before 1104) and in Anglo-Latin as sterlingus (1180).[2][4] Etymonline notes that starred coins were not especially common, and that Kluge derived the word from Old French estedre, stater.[7] The old derivation from Easterling is now rejected.[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The English silver penny: 1297 in the OED, 1299 in Barnhart.[8][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense widened by the late 14th century to the standard lawful unit of currency.[7] Money of the quality of the sterling penny, genuine English money, is from 1565,[2][8] and English money as distinct from foreign money from 1601.[2][8] Word Origins notes that the coins came to be used as weights,[6] and a sterling was a pennyweight from 1474.[8] The adjective, of English money, is from 1425,[2] and of standard or excellent quality from the 17th century.[4][6] The spelling has been confused with that of the Scottish town of Stirling.[7]

Timeline

  • 1297 – the English penny.[8]
  • late 14th century – lawful currency.[7]
  • 1425 – the adjective.[2]
  • 1565 – genuine English money.[2]
  • 1601 – English money as distinct from foreign.[2]
  • 17th century – of excellent quality.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. British money, especially the pound as a unit of currency.
  2. The official standard of fineness of British silver and gold coins.
  3. Sterling silver, or things made of it.

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to British money.
  2. Made of sterling silver.
  3. Of the highest quality; excellent: sterling work.

Word family

  • sterlingly
  • sterlingness
  • pound sterling

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press