n. 1. See Table at currency. 2. A unit of currency equal to one one-thousandth of the dinar in Libya and Sudan. [Arabic dirham, back-formed singular from plural darāhim (using a derivational pattern commonly forming Arabic singular nouns from roots with four consonants; compare 'iṣba‘, finger, with plural 'aṣābi‘), from Middle Persian drahm, ancient silver drachma, from Greek drakhmē; see DRACHMA.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.