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From: sjaak@vuecho.psy.vu.nl (Sjaak Schuurman)
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat,sci.lang
Subject: Re: Origin of "$", hopefully the last word!  (was: Re: Computers and human languages (was Re: What is a byte))
Message-ID: <131@wundt.vuecho.psy.vu.nl>
Date: Mon, 14-Sep-87 21:23:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: wundt.131
Posted: Mon Sep 14 21:23:12 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Sep-87 06:15:25 EDT
References: <218@astra.necisa.oz> <8461@utzoo.UUCP
Reply-To: sjaak@psy.vu.nl (Sjaak Schuurman)
Organization: VU Psychologie, Amsterdam
Lines: 25
Summary: Currency names
Xref: mnetor comp.std.internat:233 sci.lang:1359

In article <2436@aw.sei.cmu.edu> firth@bd.sei.cmu.edu.UUCP writes:
>In article <985@homxb.UUCP> hrs@homxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) writes:
>>
>>                 (....)                      Also note the abbreviation
>>Fl. for the guilder.  It stands for Florin, but means guilder (gulden).
>>
>
>
>The word 'florin' comes from Florentia (English Florence), in
>Renaissance times the home of one of the more trustworthy mints.
>Compare 'bezant', from Byzantium, and of course 'franc'.

H. Silbiger is correct here, although it can be stated more precisely.
A Dutch linguist told me:
"Hfl, Fl or just f. stands for [Hollandse] florijn, and it means 'gulden'
in such a way, that the name for the currency used in the Low Countries was
fully 'gulden florijn'.
Gulden is medieval Dutch for gouden (golden), and florijn comes from the
name 'Floris', a prince whose image was on one side of those (golden) coins."

BTW: Nowadays a special sign is used in the Netherlands
     for the guilder as well, namely a curly lowercase 'f'.


					Sjaak Schuurman.