Where does "a quid" originate?

[Benni]

No, I don´t mean the coin or bank note , they will have been fabricated by the Bank of England (or a dodgy copier),
but where does the term "quid" for a pound note (or coin) come from ?
Webster and wiki say "unknown", but I guess the PH massiv can give explanation(s) ?
On a related note , why is quid always used in single term, nothing like "nigh on a thousand quids" ?









By the way, the same was to be said about the former west german currency, there was only "D-Mark" spoken even if the sum was 100.000,-
the only folks talking about "Deutschmarks" were the ones whose countries had won THE WAR (hah, mentioned it)

[mybrainhurts]

Coined (ho ho) by that nutty Scottish poet, whose name escapes me at the moment...

Most of his stuff was unintelligible babble, save for the famous...

Lend us a quid until Thurrrusday...

Ahhh'm expectin' a poostal order...

[ScottishSamurai]

mybrainhurts said:

Coined (ho ho) by that nutty Scottish poet, whose name escapes me at the moment...

Most of his stuff was unintelligible babble, save for the famous...

Lend us a quid until Thurrrusday...

Ahhh'm expectin' a poostal order...

Penny-Lope?

[AJS-]

Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination according to Wikipedia.

I would guess it comes from the latin "quid pro quo" something for something else, which is te purpose of currency.

ETA Originate

Edited by AJS- on Wednesday 20th January 01:53

[fluffnik]

AJS- said:

I would guess it comes from the latin "quid pro quo" something for something else, which is te purpose of currency.

...my guess too.

[Eric Mc]

Before decimalisation, virtually every coin or note of the Realm had some sort of nickname.

1/4 of a penny - farthing
1/2 - ha'penny
2d - tuppenece
3d -m thruppence
6d - a tanner
1 shilling - a bob
2 shillings - a florin
2 shillings and 6 pence (2/6) - a half crown
5 shillings - a crown
£1 - a quid
£1 and 1 shilling - a guinea

[FlossyThePig]

Does anyone have access to the OED? The compilers try to show the etymology of each word listed.

[AJI]

Eric Mc said:

Before decimalisation, virtually every coin or note of the Realm had some sort of nickname.

1/4 of a penny - farthing
1/2 - ha'penny
2d - tuppenece
3d -m thruppence
6d - a tanner
1 shilling - a bob
2 shillings - a florin
2 shillings and 6 pence (2/6) - a half crown
5 shillings - a crown
£1 - a quid
£1 and 1 shilling - a guinea

hahahahaha you said 'tuppence'

[JMGS4]

Eric Mc said:

Before decimalisation, virtually every coin or note of the Realm had some sort of nickname.

1/4 of a penny - farthing
1/2 - ha'penny
2d - tuppenece
3d -m thruppence
6d - a tanner
1 shilling - a bob
2 shillings - a florin
2 shillings and 6 pence (2/6) - a half crown
5 shillings - a crown
£1 - a quid
£1 and 1 shilling - a guinea

Ze Korrektion Polizei are here
The only nickname in the above list is tanner all the others are just misspellings or spellings of pronunciations or the correct names for the denominations.
AND you forgot the groat, fourpence to you!
And i have a token/coin dated 1713 which is a 13th of a shilling.. What is that?

[Benni]

Thanks for the info so far, I didn´t think of the latin origin,
how/when did this slip into english common language ?

[TooLateForAName]

ScottishSamurai said:

mybrainhurts said:

Coined (ho ho) by that nutty Scottish poet, whose name escapes me at the moment...

Most of his stuff was unintelligible babble, save for the famous...

Lend us a quid until Thurrrusday...

Ahhh'm expectin' a poostal order...

Penny-Lope?

Ivor Cutler?

[Size Nine Elm]

quid (2)

"one pound sterling," 1688, British slang, possibly from quid "that which is" (1606, see quiddity), as used in quid pro quo (q.v.).


http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quid

[GTIR]

Strangely Guineas are still used in horse sales at Tattersalls and when referring to horse racing prize money. "The Stan James Newmarket 10,000 guinea Derby" etc.

Everyone talks Guineas.

[Vespula]

William Topaz McGonagall, poet and tragedian of Dundee, has been widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language..

A self-educated hand loom weaver from Dundee, he discovered his discordant muse in 1877 and embarked upon a 25 year career as a working poet, delighting and appalling audiences across Scotland and beyond.

[zac510]

Anyone lend me a zac?

[GTIR]

zac510 said:

Anyone lend me a zac?

Give him back when you're done. Got an 8yo who'll no doubt miss him.

[Hugo a Gogo]

JMGS4 said:

Eric Mc said:

Before decimalisation, virtually every coin or note of the Realm had some sort of nickname.

1/4 of a penny - farthing
1/2 - ha'penny
2d - tuppenece
3d -m thruppence
6d - a tanner
1 shilling - a bob
2 shillings - a florin
2 shillings and 6 pence (2/6) - a half crown
5 shillings - a crown
£1 - a quid
£1 and 1 shilling - a guinea

Ze Korrektion Polizei are here
The only nickname in the above list is tanner all the others are just misspellings or spellings of pronunciations or the correct names for the denominations.
AND you forgot the groat, fourpence to you!
And i have a token/coin dated 1713 which is a 13th of a shilling.. What is that?

how is 'bob' a misspelling or mispronunciation of shilling?

[Mr E Driver]

You forgot 'Ten bob for a 10/- note

[Parrot of Doom]

FlossyThePig said:

Does anyone have access to the OED? The compilers try to show the etymology of each word listed.

I do but the login link from Manchester Library isn't working right now, for some reason.

[Eric Mc]

JMGS4 said:

Eric Mc said:

Before decimalisation, virtually every coin or note of the Realm had some sort of nickname.

1/4 of a penny - farthing
1/2 - ha'penny
2d - tuppenece
3d -m thruppence
6d - a tanner
1 shilling - a bob
2 shillings - a florin
2 shillings and 6 pence (2/6) - a half crown
5 shillings - a crown
£1 - a quid
£1 and 1 shilling - a guinea

Ze Korrektion Polizei are here
The only nickname in the above list is tanner all the others are just misspellings or spellings of pronunciations or the correct names for the denominations.
AND you forgot the groat, fourpence to you!
And i have a token/coin dated 1713 which is a 13th of a shilling.. What is that?

I couldn't care less what the origin of the title was. I just thought that a list of this type might be educational for the "youngsters" on this forum who were not around in the pre-decimal era.

That is all.