Adjacent Words

Sterling definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STERLING, a. [probably from Easterling.]
1. An epithet by which English money of account is distinguished; as a pound sterling; a shilling sterling; a penny sterling. It is not now applied to the coins of England; but sterling cost, sterling value are used.
2. Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; as a work of sterling merit; a man of sterling wit or good sense.
STERLING, n.
1. English money.
And Roman wealth in English sterling view.
In this use, sterling may signify English coins.
2. Standard; rate. [Little used in either sense.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: highest in quality [syn: greatest, sterling, superlative] n
1: British money; especially the pound sterling as the basic monetary unit of the UK

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, silver penny, probably from Old English *steorling, from Old English steorra star + ¹-ling — more at star Date: 14th century 1. British money 2. sterling silver or articles of it II. adjective Date: 15th century 1. a. of, relating to, or calculated in terms of British sterling b. payable in sterling 2. a. of silver having a fixed standard of purity usually defined legally as represented by an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper b. made of sterling silver 3. conforming to the highest standard <sterling character> <a sterling record of achievement> • sterlingly adverb • sterlingness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or in British money (pound sterling). 2 (of a coin or precious metal) genuine; of standard value or purity. 3 (of a person or qualities etc.) of solid worth; genuine, reliable (sterling work). --n. British money (paid in sterling). Phrases and idioms: sterling area a group of countries with currencies tied to British sterling and holding reserves mainly in sterling. sterling silver silver of 921/2% purity. Derivatives: sterlingness n. Etymology: prob. f. late OE steorling (unrecorded) f. steorra star + -LING(1) (because some early Norman pennies bore a small star): recorded earlier in OF esterlin

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Starling Star"ling, n. [OE. sterlyng, a dim. of OE. stare, AS. st[ae]r; akin to AS. stearn, G. star, staar, OHG. stara, Icel. starri, stari, Sw. stare, Dan. st[ae]r, L. sturnus. Cf. Stare a starling.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any passerine bird belonging to Sturnus and allied genera. The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is dark brown or greenish black, with a metallic gloss, and spotted with yellowish white. It is a sociable bird, and builds about houses, old towers, etc. Called also stare, and starred. The pied starling of India is Sternopastor contra. 2. (Zo["o]l.) A California fish; the rock trout. 3. A structure of piles driven round the piers of a bridge for protection and support; -- called also sterling. Rose-colored starling. (Zo["o]l.) See Pastor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sterling Ster"ling, a. 1. Belonging to, or relating to, the standard British money of account, or the British coinage; as, a pound sterling; a shilling sterling; a penny sterling; -- now chiefly applied to the lawful money of England; but sterling cost, sterling value, are used. ``With sterling money.'' --Shak. 2. Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest standard; of full value; as, a work of sterling merit; a man of sterling good sense.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sterling Ster"ling, n. (Engin.) Same as Starling, 3.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sterling Ster"ling, n. [OE. sterlynge, starling, for easterling, LL. esterlingus, probably from Easterling, once the popular name of German trades in England, whose money was of the purest quality: cf. MHG. sterlink a certain coin. Cf. East. ``Certain merchants of Norwaie, Denmarke, and of others those parties, called Ostomanni, or (as in our vulgar language we tearme them), easterlings, because they lie east in respect of us.'' --Holinshed. ``In the time of . . . King Richard the First, monie coined in the east parts of Germanie began to be of especiall request in England for the puritie thereof, and was called Easterling monie, as all inhabitants of those parts were called Easterlings, and shortly after some of that countrie, skillful in mint matters and allaies, were sent for into this realme to bring the coine to perfection; which since that time was called of them sterling, for Easterling.'' --Camden. ``Four thousand pound of sterlings.'' --R. of Gloucester.] 1. Any English coin of standard value; coined money. So that ye offer nobles or sterlings. --Chaucer. And Roman wealth in English sterling view. --Arbuthnot. 2. A certain standard of quality or value for money. Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign. --S. M. Leake.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Sterling is the money system of Great Britain. The stamps had to be paid for in sterling. 2. Sterling means very good in quality; used to describe someone's work or character. (FORMAL) Those are sterling qualities to be admired in anyone. = excellent, outstanding ADJ: usu ADJ n [approval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Genuine, pure, true, real, substantial, positive, standard, sound.

Moby Thesaurus

Christian, admirable, and pence, authentic, blameless, bona fide, candid, capital, card-carrying, cash, circulating medium, clean, coinage, coined liberty, cold cash, creditable, currency, decent, dinkum, divine, dollars, emergency money, erect, estimable, ethical, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fair, filthy lucre, financial, fine, first-class, fiscal, following the letter, fractional currency, full of integrity, genuine, gilt-edged, glorious, gold, golden, good, hard cash, hard currency, heavenly, high-minded, high-principled, highly respectable, honest, honest-to-God, honorable, immaculate, immense, inartificial, incomparable, inviolate, irreproachable, just, law-abiding, law-loving, law-revering, lawful, legal tender, legitimate, lifelike, literal, lucre, magnificent, mammon, managed currency, manly, marvelous, matchless, medium of exchange, mintage, monetary, money, moral, natural, naturalistic, necessity money, noble, nonpareil, numismatic, nummary, original, pecuniary, peerless, pelf, postage currency, postal currency, pounds, principled, pure, real, realistic, reputable, respectable, right, right-minded, righteous, rightful, scrip, sensational, shillings, silver, simon-pure, simple, sincere, soft currency, specie, splendid, splendiferous, spotless, stainless, sumptuary, super, superb, supereminent, superexcellent, superfine, superior, superlative, sure-enough, terrific, the almighty dollar, the wherewith, the wherewithal, tremendous, true, true to life, true to nature, true to reality, true-dealing, true-devoted, true-disposing, true-souled, true-spirited, truehearted, unadulterated, unaffected, unassumed, unassuming, unblemished, uncolored, unconcocted, uncopied, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, uncounterfeited, undefiled, undisguised, undisguising, undistorted, unexaggerated, unfabricated, unfanciful, unfeigned, unfeigning, unfictitious, unflattering, unimagined, unimitated, unimpeachable, uninvented, unpretended, unpretending, unqualified, unromantic, unsimulated, unspecious, unspotted, unstained, unsullied, unsynthetic, untarnished, unvarnished, upright, uprighteous, upstanding, verbal, verbatim, veridical, verisimilar, very good, virtuous, wonderful, word-for-word, worthy, yeomanly