Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Shilling for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Shilling" — noun, pronounced /ˈʃɪlɪŋ/, with the stress on "shil".
Narrator: A shilling is an old British coin worth twelve pence, with twenty shillings in a pound.
Narrator: In plain English, it was an old British coin.
Narrator: It comes from Old English scilling.
Narrator: A common collocation is "a shilling a week", which describes an old price or wage.
Narrator: It differs from "penny", because a shilling was worth twelve old pennies.
Narrator: In a second sense, the shilling is still the currency of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Narrator: History, coin collecting, finance and travel all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: a shilling was twelve pence.
Speaker A: What did Grandad pay for the cinema?
Speaker B: One SHILLING! From Old English scilling.
Speaker A: How much is that now?
Speaker B: Five pence, in coin value.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "It cost a shilling", history. "He collects old shillings", coins. "Pay in Kenyan shillings", travel.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Before 1971, twelve pence made a shilling and twenty shillings made a pound.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Florin is its cousin, sixpence its twin, and bob its slang alternative — yet shilling keeps its old-money charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "shilling" in AI prompts — useful for history lessons and currency tools.
Speaker A: How for history?
Speaker B: Explain money.
Prompt: Explain pounds, shillings and pence to children with examples.
Speaker A: And currency tools?
Speaker B: Conversion.
Prompt: Convert a price of two shillings and sixpence into decimal pence.
Speaker A: Could it help travel?
Speaker B: Yes, for budgets.
Prompt: Create a travel budget for Kenya in Kenyan shillings.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Coins.
Prompt: Write a catalogue entry for a 1950 British shilling.
Shilling — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary