English
currency
Currency is borrowed from Medieval Latin currentia, from Latin currēns ‘running’; it is also analysable as current + -cy.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcurrēns1‘running’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500currentia1
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1627currency1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English currency
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1627, Francis Bacon, Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]: “He […] takes greatness of kingdoms according to their…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcurrēnsWiktionary, English currency‘running’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500currentiaWiktionary, English currency
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1627currencyWiktionary, English currency. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1627, Francis Bacon, Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]: “He […] takes greatness of kingdoms according to their…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’
charge, career, carry, rush, cargo, carrier, hurry, carriage, intercourse, chariot, carousel, recourse, caricature, occurrence, corral, cursory, hurrah, recursive, carrack, 35 more
through Proto-Italic *korzō ‘to run’
corridor, discourse, courier, concourse, incursion, 20 more
through Latin currō ‘to run’
course, occur, curriculum, precursor, corsair, cursor, incur, concurrent, concur, recurrent, recursion, hussar, succour, recur, 23 more
through Latin currēns ‘running’
Today it means
noun Money or other items used to facilitate transactions.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “currency”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin currēns / currency