English Reference

Word

euro

Phoneticseu·ro

US/ˈjuɹoʊ/

UK/jˈɔːɹəʊ/

Definitions

01currency unit

A1

n. the unit of money used by many countries in the European Union.

n. the official currency of the European Monetary Union, used by most member states of the EU.

“I need to exchange my dollars for euro before my trip to Paris.”

“The introduction of the euro aimed to facilitate seamless trade across borders by eliminating the need for constant currency exchange within the union.”

Usage

The plural can be either 'euro' or 'euros' depending on the context.

Pitfall

The book costs ten euros.

The book costs ten euro.

In many official contexts and on banknotes, the plural form 'euro' is used instead of 'euros', though both are common in speech.

02a coin

A1

n. a metal coin worth one euro.

n. a physical coin with a face value of one euro.

“He found a one-euro coin at the bottom of his pocket.”

“The vending machine only accepts one-euro or two-euro coins; it does not take smaller denominations or paper notes.”

03football tournament

B1 · Sport

n. a major European football competition held every four years.

n. the UEFA European Football Championship, a quadrennial international men's football tournament.

“Everyone in the office was talking about the final match of the Euros.”

“The host nation experienced a significant boost in tourism during the Euros as fans from across the continent arrived to support their teams.”

Informal

Usage

Usually used in the plural form 'the Euros'.

Synonyms

European Championship

04European style

B2

adj. related to Europe or the European Union.

adj. relating to Europe, the European Union, or the euro currency; often used as a prefix or clipping.

“The band has a very euro-pop sound that is popular in dance clubs.”

“The policy was criticized for being too euro-centric and failing to account for the diverse economic needs of global partners outside the continent.”

Informal

Synonyms

Etymology

The name euro was the winner of a contest open to the general public to propose names for the new European currency, and as such is technically a neologism, although it obviously alludes to the common root of geographical names for the continent Europe, derived from Latin Europa, from Ancient Greek Εὐρώπη (Eurṓpē), the name in Greek mythology of a princess, abducted by Zeus as a bull across the Bosporus. According to the official story, the term was coined by Belgian teacher and esperantist Germain Pirlot in 1995, who suggested it in a letter to Jacques Santer, then President of the European Commission.

From Adnyamathanha yuru, thuru.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/euro

English Reference