currency

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Money or other items used to facilitate transactions.

   “Wampum was used as a currency by Amerindians.”

   “Money managers who play down currencies tend to argue that outguessing foreign exchange markets in the short term is perilous, and that, over the long haul, shifts in currency values tend to offset one another.”

2. (countable, uncountable)Paper money.

   “Spangler went through his pockets, coming out with a handful of small coins, one piece of currency and a hard-boiled egg.”

   “Two years on, and while the Sultan of Slowjamastan has instigated more than a few bizarre laws (he’s outlawed the wearing of Crocs, for example), the Republic also has all the trappings of a fledgling nation-state. It issues its own passports, flies its own flag, prints its own currency (“the duble”), and has a national anthem that’s played on state occasions.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The state of being current; general acceptance, recognition or use.

   “The jargon’s currency.”

   “Fear of punishment has no currency with me as long as I remain convinced of the larger value of what I have done.”

4. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)Current value; general estimation; the rate at which anything is generally valued.

   “He […] takes greatness of kingdoms according to their bulk and currency, and not after intrinsic value.”

   “The bare name of Englishman […] too often gave a transient currency to the worthless and ungrateful.”

5. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)Fluency; readiness of utterance.