dollar (English)
Where does "dollar" come from?
Attested in English since the mid-16th century, 'dollar' was borrowed from early Dutch 'daler' or 'daalder'[1]. The Dutch term derived from the German 'Taler', which was a shortened form of 'Joachimsthaler'[1][4]. This original name referred to silver coins minted around 1518 in the Bohemian town of Joachimsthal, literally meaning 'Saint Joachim's valley'[1][2][5]. English usage may have also been reinforced by the Dutch 'leeuwendaalder', a coin circulating in the American colonies[1].
Open questions
- The potential reinforcement of the English term by the Dutch 'leeuwendaalder' in the American colonies is suggested as possible rather than definitive. [1]
Full etymology tree
- dollar (English), 'Official designation for currency in some parts of the world, including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Its symbol is $.'
- borrowed daalder (Dutch), 'thaler'
- borrowed dāler (Middle Low German)
- borrowed Taler (German), 'taler (former unit of currency)'
- clipping Joachimsthaler (German), 'Native or inhabitant of Joachimsthal'
- affix Joachimsthal (German), 'Short form of Sankt Joachimsthal'
- compound Sankt (German), 'Saint: title given to a saint'
- compound Joachim (German), 'a male given name, equivalent to English Joachim'
- borrowed Iōāchīmus (Latin)
- borrowed Ἰωακείμ (Iōakeím) (Ancient Greek), 'a male given name from Biblical Hebrew, equivalent to English Joachim'
- borrowed יְהוֹיָקִים (yəhôyâqîm) (Biblical Hebrew)
- borrowed Ἰωακείμ (Iōakeím) (Ancient Greek), 'a male given name from Biblical Hebrew, equivalent to English Joachim'
- borrowed Iōāchīmus (Latin)
- compound Thal (German), 'Obsolete spelling of Tal which was deprecated in 1902 following the Second Orthographic Conference of 1901.'
- inherited tal (Middle High German)
- inherited tal (Old High German), 'valley'
- inherited tal (Middle High German)
- suffix -er (German), 'Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place.'
- affix Joachimsthal (German), 'Short form of Sankt Joachimsthal'
- clipping Joachimsthaler (German), 'Native or inhabitant of Joachimsthal'
- borrowed Taler (German), 'taler (former unit of currency)'
- borrowed dāler (Middle Low German)
- influenced by leeuwendaalder (Dutch), 'leeuwendaalder'
- borrowed daalder (Dutch), 'thaler'
Ancestors
- daler (Dutch)
- Taler (German)
Cognates and doublets
- tolar (English)
Descendants and derived words
- 刀 (Chinese)
- 刀 (Chinese)
- ဒေါ်လာ (Burmese)
- dòlar (Catalan)
- 刀 (Chinese)
- dolar (Czech)
- dollar (Danish)
- dollar (Dutch)
- a day late and a dollar short (English)
- a day late and a dollar short (English)
- agridollar (English)
- almighty dollar (English)
Sources
- dollar (English) - Wiktionary
- Taler (German) - Wiktionary
- daler (Dutch) - Wiktionary
- daalder (Dutch) - Wiktionary
- Joachimsthaler (German) - Wiktionary
- Joachim (German) - Wiktionary
- Tal (German) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris