vincent
n. countablen. a slang name for a twenty-pound note in British money. It comes from the name of a famous artist, but people mostly use it when talking about cash in a casual way.
n. a slang term for a twenty-pound sterling banknote. Derived from the portrait of William Shakespeare on older notes, though the term persists as a general colloquialism for the denomination.
Can you lend me a Vincent until tomorrow?
He reached into his wallet and pulled out a Vincent to pay for the round of drinks.
While the term is less common among younger generations, older market traders still occasionally refer to a twenty-pound note as a Vincent during quick cash transactions.
Borrowed from French Vincent, from Latin Vincentius, from vincēns (“conquering”), from the verb vincō.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Informal British slang; typically used in spoken English rather than written text.
Last updated May 2, 2026